Two Riders 1990

Louisa Matthiasdottir probably made this painting, Two Riders, in her studio, with brushes and a wild sense of color. I’m picturing her working quickly, trying to capture the light and air of Iceland. Those two horses are amazing! I can imagine Louisa thinking about how she wants to capture the feel of the wind, the wetness of the ground, and the solidity of the mountains, the strange mix of pinks, blues, and greens that make Iceland so unique. It's fun to imagine her wrestling with the painting, adding a dab of cadmium red here, scraping it off there, layering colors until she got it just right. Matthiasdottir's work always has a certain freshness, like she is figuring something out as she goes along. She definitely makes me want to get into the studio and start pushing paint around. Maybe that's the point of painting anyway - to be a conversation between artists, a way of sharing ideas and inspiration across time.