Girl from Village 1960

Robert Brackman painted this 'Girl from Village' in oils, but we don't know exactly when. Look at how the warm pinks and yellows pop against the moody, grey background. It feels like Brackman is finding his way as he paints, each brushstroke building the form. The paint is applied with a certain casualness, not fussy at all. See the way the light catches the girl’s cheek, how Brackman uses soft, blended strokes to define the shape? Then, there are these decisive strokes on the rocks. The way the light seems to shimmer off the water – its not photorealist, but a feeling he’s trying to get at. It is a push-pull between representation and abstraction. This tension reminds me of Fairfield Porter, another artist who found beauty in the everyday, who painted life as he saw it, with all its quirks and imperfections. Art isn’t about perfection; it’s about the messy, beautiful process of seeing and feeling.