17579 (_In the art of painting …_) 1932

John Elsas made this piece, 17579 (_In the art of painting …_) with watercolour. The way the artist uses washes of watercolour here reminds me of letting the medium do its thing. There's something wonderfully playful about the figure, like it’s a character from a half-remembered story. Look at the body of the figure, how the paint pools in places, creating texture and depth with what are essentially accidents. Then there's the hat, a riot of purple and brown, where the colours seem to bleed into each other, like ink in water. It makes you wonder about the kind of control—or lack thereof—the artist was aiming for. Elsas is reminding me of other rule-breaking artists, like Forrest Bess, who allowed their subconscious to guide their work. This piece is a reminder that art isn’t just about skill; it’s about embracing the unexpected.