Gabrovo 1960

Dobri Dobrev made this oil painting, Gabrovo, with a muted palette of blues, greens, and browns that makes me think of a slightly overcast day. I can imagine him standing there, brush in hand, trying to capture the feel of the place, maybe a little hurried, trying to get it all down before the light changes. I sympathize with Dobrev, wondering how he approached the canvas, what he felt as he mixed those colors, the blues of the water reflecting the sky, the greens of the trees softening the edges of the buildings. The paint looks thinly applied here, almost like a wash in some areas, and thicker in others, giving the scene a kind of layered depth. Look at that stroke of blue, how it suggests the flow of the water, almost a shorthand for movement. Painters are always in conversation with each other, across time and space, picking up ideas, responding, reacting. Painting is about embodied expression and Dobrev embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations.