Haycocks 1916

Janos Mattis-Teutsch made "Haycocks" with watercolor on paper. What strikes me about this painting is its playfulness. The artist isn't trying to copy the landscape in front of him. Instead, the artwork comes into being through trial, error, and intuition. I feel like I’m looking at a memory of a landscape rather than the landscape itself. The colors are bright and light and feel like a happy dream. I am always amazed at how an artist can use a simple gesture to communicate feeling and intention. The green lines around the haystacks, for example, are there to frame them, to keep them afloat, almost like little islands. Artists are in ongoing conversation. Janos Mattis-Teutsch is an artist that makes me think about how many different ways there are to make a painting. Painting embraces ambiguity. We can come back to the work over and over and find something new each time.