Façades Avec Lointain 2011

Pietropoli Patrick made this muted cityscape, Façades Avec Lointain, with oil on canvas. The way he's layered the paint is really interesting to me. There's a softness but also a real directness, you know? Like he's figuring it out as he goes, letting the process be visible. Look how the buildings in the foreground are built up with these chunky strokes, almost like collaged blocks. Then, in contrast, the skyline's way off in the distance, more suggested than defined. That contrast between the tactile and the atmospheric makes my eyes keep moving, always finding something new. There's this one little patch of brick on the right, almost a reddish brown, and the paint is applied so thinly you can see the canvas underneath. It's these little moments of openness that really make the painting sing. This piece reminds me of some of Fairfield Porter’s cityscapes, that same kind of casual, yet considered approach. To me, it's a reminder that painting isn't just about capturing a scene, it's about the conversation between the artist, the subject, and the materials.