Brookside 1919

Bertalan Por made "Brookside" with paint, maybe oils, and a brush. It's all movement and color, the green hills and bright blue sky applied in thick strokes. I can imagine Por standing there, maybe a little frustrated, trying to capture the light dancing on the water. I feel a kinship with the artist and I see them trying to pin down something that's always shifting. The way the paint is applied, with such energy, makes me think about the physicality of painting. It reminds me of Constable, but with more angst. That swash of blue, just there, it could be a failed attempt to capture something real, or maybe it's about something felt. It’s a conversation between what he sees, what he feels, and what the paint will allow. Painters are always talking to each other across time, trying to get it right, whatever “it” is. And maybe “it” is just the trying.