Woman In Wind 2016

Felice House made this painting, “Woman in Wind,” sometime in the 20th century, using oil on canvas. You know, when you start a painting, you have this idea but then the process takes over. It’s like the painting starts painting itself. I get that from this piece. Look at the hair, how it’s caught in motion. The artist has really worked the surface there, with layers of ochre and brown. There's something so dynamic about how the brushstrokes capture that sense of movement, and it contrasts so nicely with the stillness of the woman's profile. The whole thing is painted with very subtle shifts in tone, creating a kind of atmospheric haze. It reminds me a little of some of those symbolist painters like Moreau, where the figure seems to merge with the landscape. But with a modern sensibility. The thing I like most about painting is how it can be both a window and a mirror. This painting lets you look, but also feel something about yourself.