Grasshopper 1990

Peter Doig made this painting called 'Grasshopper' with oil paint, and you can really see the process. It's not about hiding how it was made, but letting the layers and strokes speak for themselves. Look at the sky, for example. It's not just a flat blue, but a field of textured marks, almost like scribbles, that give it depth and movement. This connects to the lower half of the painting, where horizontal bands of colour suggest a field or body of water. The paint is applied in thin washes and broad strokes, allowing the colors to blend and bleed into each other. There's a real sense of atmosphere. Doig reminds me of someone like Fairfield Porter, who also found beauty in everyday scenes and wasn't afraid to leave the brushstrokes visible. Ultimately, 'Grasshopper' celebrates the joy of painting and the endless possibilities of how we see and represent the world around us.