Green Bowl of Flowers c. 1916

William James Glackens made this oil on canvas, ‘Green Bowl of Flowers,’ using short, gestural brushstrokes in a palette of oranges, blues, and yellows. Imagine him standing here, brush in hand, circling the canvas, building up the image layer by layer. You know, it's like he’s not just painting flowers but also the light, the air, and the pure joy of seeing. I can almost feel the sunshine streaming in, hitting those petals, bouncing off the table. He's got a way of making the paint itself seem alive. Look at the thickness, the way it catches the light. It is such a generous painting. Like a friendly conversation with a really good friend. Glackens reminds me of other painters who love color and texture, like Bonnard, who also made paintings of intimate, domestic spaces come alive. It's a timeless conversation between artists, each building on what came before.