Colors of Summer 2014

Bernadette Resha’s ‘Colors of Summer’ emerges with sunshine yellows and sky blues, probably applied wet-on-wet. I can almost smell the paint. Imagine Resha facing the canvas, brush in hand, trying to catch the essence of summer. It's a conversation, you know? The canvas throws something back at you; the colour goes on, it suggests something, you react and go on. Is the blue of the background meant to evoke a bright summer sky? Or is it a deeper well of feeling? See how the bubbles of white and darker blue create depth? And the sunflower, cropped to invite us in closer, is not static – it's about to bloom, its seeds captured within the web-like center. Painters are always talking to each other, across time and space. Resha's sunflower reminds us that painting is about embracing uncertainty, and allowing for multiple readings, just like life itself.