Painter of signboards 1920

Boris Kustodiev made this watercolor painting, called 'Painter of signboards', in the 1920s. The washes of colour are so loose, and free. It's almost as if Kustodiev is painting with feeling, capturing a world of making and creating. You can almost feel the artist’s joy in the everyday. He's up high on a stool, putting his brush to the board. Look at the way he’s rendered all that meat. Did Kustodiev have the sign painter pose in his studio? Or did he visit him in his workshop? I imagine him perched on that stool, surrounded by his paints and brushes, losing himself in the act of creation. Kustodiev is part of a long conversation between artists, a dialogue that spans time and place. His paintings remind us that art is not just about skill; it's about expression, about capturing the essence of life in all its messy, imperfect glory.