Mind Games 2021

Martine Johanna painted these figures sometime in the 20th Century, and for me, the title *Mind Games* hints at the act of painting itself; a shifting, emerging thing, full of trial and error, and hopefully intuition. I sympathize with Martine, standing at her easel, brush in hand, trying to capture the intimacy between these two figures. What was she thinking, I wonder, when she laid down that stroke of lavender for the hair, or the careful curve of the arm cradling a head? The paint looks thin and deliberate, each layer building a sense of depth and emotion. That hand resting on the head–it's a gesture of comfort, isn't it? Or is it control? So many paintings are a conversation with other painters across time, the cross-pollination of ideas inspiring our own creativity. Painting, ultimately, embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations. There's no single, fixed meaning here, and that’s the beauty of it.