Orange Downpour 1970

Helen Frankenthaler made this painting, Orange Downpour, with thin washes of colour on canvas. Just looking at it, I imagine she laid the canvas on the floor, pouring, pushing, and coaxing the paint around with big squeegees or sponges. That juicy orange shape sliding down the canvas! It's so simple, yet so evocative! It makes me think of the joy and freedom of mark-making; the materiality of paint. Frankenthaler’s gesture communicates a sense of play and immediacy, which is something I really look for in a painting. And, of course, that stripe on the left – is it holding the orange in place, or pushing it away? It feels like a nod to Newman, but also completely her own. Frankenthaler's work always reminds me that artists are in constant conversation. We are inspired by each other, borrowing ideas and pushing boundaries. Painting, for me, is like that – an ongoing experiment, a way of exploring the world and expressing the ambiguity of feeling. There’s no right or wrong answer, just the endless possibility of what paint can do.