Spring 

Georgia O'Keeffe created this painting, Spring, with oil paint on canvas. O'Keeffe's approach to painting was deeply rooted in the physical act of applying pigment to the canvas. Looking closely, you'll see that she carefully layered colors to create smooth, almost dreamlike surfaces. The forms and subjects of the paintings are, in effect, co-produced by the paint itself. The oil allows her to achieve those fluid transitions of color that so strongly suggest organic form. The labor involved in O'Keeffe's paintings isn't necessarily about the amount of time spent. Rather, it’s about the meditative and almost reverential approach she brought to her work, building up surfaces with careful intention. Her focus on the physicality of paint and the processes of layering, blending, and manipulating color challenges the idea that fine art is purely about intellectual concept.