Study of clouds 1942

This ‘Study of Clouds’ was created by Nicholas Roerich, probably in oil paint, but who knows when? The way he’s layered up those blues and grays, it’s all about the feel of the sky, not some perfect picture of it. Artmaking is always a process of layering, of adding and subtracting, until something surprising happens. Look at how Roerich lets the paint do its thing. It’s not super thick, but you can see the brushstrokes, especially around that dark patch in the center. It’s like he’s digging into the sky, trying to find some deeper meaning. That dark, almost bruised color makes the whole painting sing with a kind of moody energy. Is it a storm coming? Is it a portal? Roerich reminds me a little of Hilma af Klint, in that both artists were really tapped into something beyond what we can see. Art isn’t about answers, it’s about keeping the conversation going.