Anemones 1929

Zygmunt Waliszewski made "Anemones" with oil, using the kind of brushwork that makes you think about painting as a verb, not just a noun. The paint here is laid down with a real sense of freedom. Look at how he's built up the surface of that jug, dabbing and swirling different colours together, like he's trying to capture the way light flickers across the surface. And those flowers, they're not just anemones, they're explosions of colour, little riots of red and blue and yellow. There's something almost Fauvist about the way he uses colour, that reminds me of Derain's joyful landscapes, but also something distinctly Polish, maybe a touch of folk art in the mix? It is not about perfection, but about feeling. You know, that's what painting is all about for me too, a space to try things out, to make a mess, and maybe, just maybe, find something beautiful along the way.