Begonias and Gardenias 1991

This is a painting of begonias and gardenias by Avigdor Arikha, and it's got me thinking about how we look at things. There’s a real sense of immediacy in the way the colours are put down, like he’s trying to capture the plants in a single breath. I’m drawn to the left side of the image, where you can almost feel the rough texture of the leaves against your fingertips. The way he's built up the paint layer by layer, it feels like I'm right there in front of them, catching the light as it shifts. It reminds me of Morandi, the way he found endless variations within such a simple subject. Art isn't about making a perfect copy of the world but seeing it anew each time. It’s about embracing the messy, imperfect process of trying to capture something elusive.