Variations 1989

"Variations" is a print by Terry Frost with bold colors and shapes, like the artist was working with a visual alphabet that he keeps rearranging. I love the way the blue moves in a wave across the bottom, like he's captured the feeling of the water more than the look of it. The title, scrawled right there on the paper, tells us as much too. I can imagine him in the studio, maybe listening to music, making marks, turning the paper, and letting the shapes suggest new ones. I see echoes of Matisse, with a dash of Guston's humor, or maybe early Hockney, like they're all in conversation together, borrowing and riffing off each other's ideas, even across decades. Painting isn't just about making a pretty picture, right? It's about thinking, feeling, and finding a way to show what's inside you. It's a process of discovery that's never really finished.