The Balustrade 1913

Roderic O'Conor made this landscape, called "The Balustrade", with oil on canvas. It's got this real playful energy, I think, from the way he's daubed all these colors on, these reds and greens and yellows, making the process so visible, not covering it up. Look at the way the paint sits on the surface: it’s thick in some places, especially in that balustrade, and then thinner, more transparent as you look towards the houses in the background. It’s almost like he’s built the painting up, layer by layer, but without smoothing things out too much. Those little flicks of yellow on the balustrade, for example, they’re not trying to describe anything, they’re just there, doing their own thing, but somehow they make the whole thing sing! For me, this piece has echoes of Van Gogh in its intensity and bold use of color, but O’Conor has his own distinctive voice. Ultimately, paintings like this remind us that art is a conversation, an exchange of ideas, where each artist brings their unique perspective and contributes to the ongoing dialogue.