Outskirts of the Village 1984

Victor Puzyrkov’s “Outskirts of the Village” is a landscape painting where the paint is dabbed on in little brushstrokes. This gives the whole scene a shimmer, like the air itself is alive. Looking closely, you can see how the thick daubs of paint create the impression of texture – the rough haystacks, the wet mud, the shifting leaves. I’m drawn to the way he’s built up the foreground, with its puddles reflecting the sky, using these earthy browns and greens. It's like he's not just painting what he sees but building up a whole world, one little stroke at a time. Puzyrkov reminds me of Isaac Levitan, another Russian landscape painter, who knew how to find the emotional heart in a simple scene. Both artists remind us that painting isn't just about showing us something, but about making us feel something too.