Old House 1979

Vudon Baklytsky made this painting, Old House, with what looks like oil on canvas, and it feels like a real process. There's a real visceral energy, isn't there? The textures are so thick, they almost feel three-dimensional. The way he's layered the paint, especially in the foliage around the house, makes you feel like you could reach out and touch it. There's this circle of red right in the middle, almost like an eye, or a wound, staring back at us. And above it, these energetic white slashes in the sky, like the whole scene is vibrating. You can almost feel him pushing and pulling the paint around, trying to make sense of what he's seeing, and maybe even feeling. The spirit of Van Gogh is in this image, that same urgent need to translate inner turmoil into visible marks. It reminds us that art doesn't always have to be about pretty pictures, sometimes it's about raw, honest expression.