Untitled c. 1944

This untitled piece was made by Mark Rothko with paint on paper. Look at the way he allows the watercolor to blossom across the surface, creating these amorphous shapes and delicate washes. You can almost feel him experimenting, letting the colors mingle and bleed into each other, like one of those early Philip Guston's where the act of painting is totally upfront, right there on the canvas. The texture here is all about transparency and layering, with thin veils of color creating depth and atmosphere. Notice that fleshy pink form on the left and how it contrasts with the spiraling blues on the right. It's a subtle move, but it creates a real sense of tension and movement within the composition, like a dance between figuration and abstraction. Rothko's work really invites us to slow down and contemplate the emotional power of color. It reminds me that art is not just about what we see, but how we feel.