Thea en vriendinnen 1943

This is one page of an album featuring Thea and her friends, made using photographs and hand-drawn decorations. The images themselves are in black and white, but the borders are hand-drawn in red, blue and green, using a very direct, unrefined way of mark making, it is interesting how the artist has chosen to enhance the photos with colour. The texture of the photographs are smooth and glossy, but these are contrasted by the album pages themselves which appear dark and matte. The hand-drawn borders in blocks of colour are very direct and unrefined, like the work of an untrained or folk artist, which only adds to its charm. It reminds me a bit of some of the early 20th century avant-garde artists. In particular, the way the lines veer off in different directions reminds me of Miró's playful approach to abstraction. Like Miró, this artist embraces spontaneity and intuition, creating something that feels both personal and universal. In art, as in life, it's often the imperfections that make things interesting.