Rockintored 2011

Frank Bowling made this painting, Rockintored, with layered brushstrokes and areas of thick impasto. You can see it came into being through trial, error, and intuition. I can really get into this red! I mean, what was Bowling thinking when he laid down that first layer of crimson? I imagine him standing back, maybe squinting a little, then diving back in with that ochre and gold, building up the texture, letting it almost—but not quite—become a recognizable shape. I especially love that little ragged edge, where the golden color almost seems to bleed into the red ground. It's like he's showing us the conversation between colors, the push and pull of different feelings. The stitching around the edge is also really beautiful, a kind of love, like the painting is about to take flight. It reminds me of other painters who are thinking about landscape and abstraction at the same time, like Joan Mitchell. Artists are in an ongoing conversation, inspiring each other's creativity, and this painting feels like a vibrant part of that dialogue.