House by the sea 1970

Yuriy Khymych made this painting, "House by the sea", with watercolour on paper. Look at the yellowy ochre washes, and how the colours stain and pool across the page. I wonder, was the paper laid flat or propped up? Did the artist watch as the colours bled together? I feel the artist's presence in this painting – Khymych must have stood on this little hill to capture the house and the ships in the sea. The lines are loose, watery, the colours are sunny but muted. See how the house is nestled into the ochre hillside as if it's part of the landscape, the way the roofline mimics the curve of the hill behind it? And did you notice the washing line, strung between the house and the hill? The boats, far away in the distance, are a cool, dark contrast, and the sky is even cooler, pressing down, giving the scene a kind of tension. All of this reminds me of Milton Avery's seascapes, but there's also something very personal and direct here, like a memory or a dream.