Flowers 1911

Roderic O’Conor made *Flowers*, with oil on canvas, and wow, what a delicious, juicy painting! Look at those colours, dark reds and fleshy pinks jostling with creamy whites and the zing of yellow in the vase and tablecloth. The paint is thick and alive, each stroke a physical event. You can almost feel O'Conor smearing, dabbing, and swirling the paint around. Notice how the brushstrokes around the edges of the flowers are loose, almost dissolving into the background. It’s as if O'Conor is more interested in the *idea* of flowers than in rendering them perfectly. See that one red rose, almost maroon, right in the middle? It's like a dark, velvety secret, pulling you into the heart of the painting. O’Conor reminds me of Soutine with his wild brushwork, yet the colour palette is more restrained, more intimate. It's like overhearing a whispered conversation – intense, but personal. The conversation of painting, always echoing through time.