Near pomegranate tree 1907

Martiros Sarian made "Near pomegranate tree" with watercolor, and looking at it, I can almost feel the brush dancing across the paper. Sarian's palette is like a vibrant dream, all indigos, ochres, reds, and yellows mingling together. I wonder what Sarian was thinking as he built up this scene, layer by layer? What's the deal with the figure? There's a real sense of play here, a kind of back-and-forth between intention and accident. The brushstrokes are loose and gestural, with the marks themselves conveying feeling, intention, and meaning. The whole surface throbs with energy. I love the strange figures of the birds in the tree! Painters have always looked to each other for inspiration, and I see Sarian in conversation with artists like Matisse or Derain, especially in his bold use of color and simplified forms. It reminds us that artists are in a constant dialogue, building on what came before while pushing towards something new. It's this uncertainty, this openness to possibility, that makes painting so exciting!