Springtime 1978

Constantin Piliuta made this painting, Springtime, with oil on canvas. Look at the way the whole scene is built from strokes of colour, like it’s all breathing. It’s a process of addition, the artist piling on these blocky colours to make a kind of wobbly, joyful harmony. I’m really drawn to how Piliuta’s put the paint down. Not too thick, not too thin, but juuuust right. You can almost see the brushstrokes dancing across the surface, each one a little decision, a little ‘yes’ to the painting. Check out the blossoms on the trees. See how he's dabbed the white paint? It’s not trying to be a photo, it's happy to be paint, and that makes it even better. Piliuta reminds me a little of Grandma Moses, not in style, but in that same love of simplicity and directness. Both artists give you a world that feels both real and made up at the same time. And isn’t that what art’s all about?