Horse Races in Winter 1924

Clarence Gagnon made this painting, Horse Races in Winter, with oil on canvas, though when exactly remains a mystery. Look at those marks! Little jabs of color, loaded up and laid down with a brush, like a whole army of dashes marching across the canvas. It's not trying to fool you into thinking it’s real, that's for sure. You can see the paint doing its thing, becoming a picture. The texture is so important here – the way the light catches on those impastoed strokes makes the snow look almost edible. And those colors! The bright yellow next to the cool blues, it creates a vibration that is like the buzzing energy of a winter festival. The brushstrokes are short and choppy, giving the painting a real sense of movement and life. It’s like he’s trying to catch a fleeting moment, a burst of energy. You could say that Gagnon reminds me a little of Vuillard, capturing daily life with such intimacy and charm. Art, after all, is just one long conversation.