Les adieux 1959

Yves Laloy made this painting, Les adieux, using what looks like gouache on board, and you get the sense that it was quickly laid down. It's like the artist was in a hurry to record what he saw in his mind's eye before it disappeared. I love the flatness of the figures against the dark ground, as if they were cut out and pasted on a black night sky! I imagine the artist applying the paint directly, with no underpainting, layer after layer, searching to get the right image. These spectral figures feel as though they are in a state of transformation, an emotional state of farewell. There's a childlike directness here that reminds me of Miró, a freedom of expression that suggests an intuitive state of being and making. Painting like this is a journey, a process of discovery, and a way for artists to leave their mark on the world, one brushstroke at a time.