Coldest Stone 1960

Sam Francis made "Coldest Stone" with paint on, I assume, paper, and what strikes me is the juicy messiness of it all. The process here is totally visible, the layering and dripping of the paint, the way he lets the colours collide and mingle. Looking at the painting, you can almost feel the physicality of the materials. The blues and greens are applied in translucent washes, but then there are thicker, more opaque splatters of darker colours, like little explosions on the surface. The texture is so alive, with these rivulets and pools of pigment that create depth and movement. Notice that almost calligraphic gesture in the centre, like a burst of energy trying to escape the canvas. It's like he's letting the paint do its thing, but also guiding it, teasing out these wild, unpredictable forms. Francis's work reminds me a little bit of Joan Mitchell, another painter who wasn't afraid to embrace the chaotic beauty of gesture and colour. Both artists remind us that art is always a conversation, a back-and-forth between intention and accident.