Red & Blue 2007

Daan Lemaire made this approximately 60 x 80 cm painting called 'Red & Blue' with watery washes of pigment. It looks like he started with loose gestures of vibrant red and intense blue. I feel for him! I know that space of experimentation so well. I can imagine Daan there, maybe thinking, "how can I push the boundaries of color and form?" He's using the transparency of watercolor to create depth and luminosity. See how those vibrant colors bleed into each other, creating unexpected textures and gradients. The splashes and drips add a sense of spontaneity and movement, and the white of the paper peeks through. I can see traces of Helen Frankenthaler here, but also, maybe, echoes of Kandinsky. It reminds me that we’re all in conversation with each other as painters, picking up on each other’s cues. With paintings like these, we're embracing the unpredictable nature of the creative process and celebrating the joy of pure, unadulterated color.