Blossoming almond tree 1972

Sattar Bahlulzade made this roughly 60 by 66 cm oil painting, Blossoming Almond Tree, with simple tools that allowed for thick, expressive brushstrokes. The painting feels like a dream, everything is blue, or blue adjacent. The physicality of the medium is evident in the chunky textures that make up the almond trees. I love how the dabs of blue and white, and moments of green and yellow, create the illusion of a flowering orchard. It reminds me of Van Gogh's almond blossom paintings, but Bahlulzade’s work has a rawer, more immediate feel. Look closely at the trunk of the tree in the foreground, you can almost feel the artist wrestling with the paint, trying to capture the essence of the tree. It's not about perfect representation, but about the energy and vitality of nature. For me, the painting captures that messy, beautiful process of growth and change.