Midnight Mistral 1973

Sheigla Hartman created this piece, called Midnight Mistral, using pen and ink. I can only imagine the concentration it took to make this! The piece appears to ripple with energy, like wind blowing across a landscape. The meticulous lines create a sense of depth and movement, almost as if the image is breathing. I think the way that Hartman builds up the texture and form with such fine lines is really beautiful and evocative, but maybe she was just bored? Each stroke probably felt meditative, a slow and steady way to build something complex from simple marks. I'm really drawn to the way Hartman embraces the process, letting the image emerge gradually, each line responding to the one before it. Painting is all about creating conversation across time, and it leaves space for uncertainty and many different ways of thinking about what we see.