Composition 1963

Huguette Arthur Bertrand made this painting called 'Composition' with what looks like ink and watercolor washes, maybe gouache? It's all about process. You can sense her, making quick marks and then letting the paint drip and bleed. I'm always curious about how an artist resolves the tension between control and letting go. In this painting, you can see it everywhere. Look at the bottom right: the paint is so thin it's like colored water, staining the paper. Then your eye travels up to the center, where the orange seems almost sculptural, built up from many layers. It makes me think of Joan Mitchell, another painter who wasn't afraid to make a mess, who understood that painting is a kind of thinking. There's no right answer. Just endless possibilities.