Her hesitation; The last I Love you 2022

Lanise Howard made this painting, titled “Her Hesitation; The Last I Love You”, pretty recently. I'm struck by the way she's layered colors to create this incredible hazy, dream-like mood. It’s like looking at a memory. The surface has this delicate texture, and the colors blend so smoothly, which tells me that Howard really took her time building up each layer. Look at the way she painted the light from the sun reflecting on their skin. You can almost feel the warmth, but there is something in the contrast between the sunlight and their dark clothing that lends the image a melancholic feeling, a sense of the romantic sublime. It reminds me a little of Kerry James Marshall, especially in the way she’s thinking about light and shade, but she’s also doing something completely new. It’s that conversation through time that makes art so interesting.