Flowers in a Green Vase 1923

Samuel Peploe made this painting, "Flowers in a Green Vase," using oil on canvas, and it feels like a conversation with color and form. The way he's slapped on the paint, you can almost feel the brushstrokes dancing across the surface, a real testament to the joy of art-making as a process. Look at how the green vase isn't just green; it's a playground of blues and greens, thick paint, alive with texture. It's as if Peploe is saying, "Let's see how many greens we can find in a green vase!" The physicality of the paint makes it so you don't just see a vase, you experience it. And notice that lone orange to the side – a pop of pure energy against the more muted tones, a reminder that sometimes all you need is a little contrast to make things sing. This feels like an echo of Cezanne, but with a Scottish twist. Peploe takes those still-life traditions and makes them entirely his own. It’s a reminder that art is an ongoing dialogue, a constant reinterpretation of the world around us.