Jungle Cat 2013

Terri Kelly Moyers made "Jungle Cat" with oil paint at some point in the 20th century, and right away you can see how the brushstrokes are laid down, one after the other, describing the scene, but also building it into a kind of shimmering surface. I can imagine her, brush in hand, trying to capture the way the sun catches on the cat’s fur, and the way the flowers are both soft and a little bit prickly. The paint itself seems to be having a conversation with the light, bouncing off the surface in a way that almost makes the painting vibrate. It's not about perfection, but about feeling the warmth of the sun, the softness of the fur, and the wildness of the flowers. Painters are always in conversation with each other, across time, riffing on ideas, copying, stealing, and transforming them into something new. It's like one big, messy, beautiful conversation that never ends.