Trees 1966

Hryhorii Havrylenko, made “Trees” with oil paint, and I can imagine him outside, looking at these trees and trying to capture the essence of what he sees. I love how the forms are simplified and pushed together to create a sense of depth and volume, using only greens and blues. The paint looks like it has been applied with a brush, in short strokes, building up layers of colour and texture. Look at the way he’s added a dark green along the sides of each tree. It's almost like he is carving out a space between them. I can imagine him thinking about Cezanne or the Post-Impressionists, and how they used colour and form to create their own vision of the world. It's a reminder that artists are always in conversation with one another, across time and space, responding to what has come before and pushing the boundaries of what is possible. What do you see when you look at these trees? Does the painting remind you of a certain place or time of year?