Dream of a Tennis player 2017

Alexander Roitburd, who was born in Odessa, Ukraine, made this painting, Dream of a Tennis Player. He paints with confidence, using small brush marks to give the whole scene a distinct sense of texture. The palette is quite limited. Browns and reds dominate, and the image is quite dark, which adds to the dreamlike feeling. The paint is applied thickly, almost like frosting on a cake. The eye is drawn to the tennis player's body. The artist uses small touches of color in the face and arms to give a sense of volume. It looks like he used different-sized brushes to add shadows and highlights. Notice how the highlights on the tennis player's shins almost seem to glow. Looking at the painting as a whole, it puts me in mind of early Lucian Freud. Both artists share a commitment to representing figures honestly, with a focus on capturing their unique physicality. But Roitburd adds his own surreal twist, with the marsupials looking up at the tennis player, which gives the image a playful feel. It's hard to look away.