Summer Abundance 1993

Emily Kame Kngwarreye made this painting, Summer Abundance, with acrylic on canvas. The colours and textures, built up with layers of marks, really speak to me about the process of artmaking. I see an earthy palette, warm yellows, reds and pinks, punctuated by a few cooler greens, laid down in dots and dashes. Looking at the painting closely, I can see the way the paint has been applied in layers, almost like a map built up through repeated journeys across the land. I'm particularly drawn to the way that the lighter marks, almost like shimmering highlights, have been dragged across the surface, creating a sense of movement and energy. Kngwarreye's paintings are always so alive with the feeling of the Australian landscape. In some ways she reminds me of Joan Mitchell, another artist who used expressive brushwork to convey a sense of place and emotion. And, like Mitchell, Kngwarreye understood that the true subject of a painting is not always what it represents, but the way it makes us feel.