Paradise 1979

Albert Irvin made Paradise with paint and probably a brush. It's got this breezy, sunny disposition, like a day at the beach. I'm picturing Irvin in his studio, maybe it's a bit messy, the air thick with the smell of linseed oil. He's layering those strokes, one after another, figuring it out as he goes. The yellow feels energetic, hopeful, and those horizontal bands are like solid ground. The paint is thin in places, thick in others. Look at the drippy lines, it feels so spontaneous, like the paint just went where it wanted to go! This reminds me a little of Howard Hodgkin. He used colour in a similar way to evoke a mood or memory. And you know, every painter is in conversation with the ones who came before, riffing on their ideas, pushing them in new directions. Painting is like that, an embodied expression, like dancing. It embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, and every viewer brings their own story to the canvas. So, what does it say to you?