The Green Blouse 1904

Samuel Peploe painted this portrait, "The Green Blouse", with oil on canvas, and you can see the pleasure he takes in the process. The brushstrokes are laid bare, aren't they? Look closely at the blouse itself. It's barely green, more like a whisper of grey-green, built up from these confident strokes. There's a kind of energy in the way the paint is applied, thick in places, almost dry-brushed in others, that gives the surface a real vibrancy. The way he captures the light on her face, those touches of pink on her cheeks, it's all so immediate and alive. It’s not about perfection, it’s about feeling. The dark background reminds me of Manet, or maybe Whistler, that focus on tone and mood. Yet, Peploe's touch is all his own. He's not afraid to leave things unresolved. It feels like a fleeting moment, a glimpse of someone caught in time. Art is always a conversation, isn't it? A way of seeing and being seen.