Otzun 1981

Petros Malayan made "Otzun" with watercolor, and the way he layered those washes is something else, right? The colors are muted, like they've been sitting in the sun for centuries, which, given the subject matter, they probably have! Look closely, and you'll see the way the brushstrokes build up, layer upon layer, almost like the slow accumulation of history itself. I love how the sky is both turbulent and peaceful, like a watercolor Rorschach test, the strokes are so free. And check out the architecture. It is almost as if Malayan has painted the feeling of the place as much as the place itself. The more you look the more the surface reveals itself, it is like this wasn't labored over, but came to be in a slow and contemplative process. It reminds me a bit of Milton Avery, who also used color in such a nuanced, atmospheric way, to create a feeling as much as an image. There is such a sense of quiet contemplation. It's a painting that invites you to slow down, breathe deep, and just be.