Untitled 1979

Joan Mitchell made this untitled painting with generous brushstrokes of vibrant yellows, oranges, and purples, on three joined panels. I can just imagine her, up close, intimate with the canvas, making a personal connection between gesture, color and feeling. Looking at it, I feel like I can trace the movements of her arm, the quick flicks of her wrist, and the pressure of her hand as she worked the paint. I wonder if Mitchell was trying to capture a feeling rather than depicting a specific scene. Maybe she was inspired by nature, perhaps a field of wildflowers swaying in the breeze? The drips and splatters of paint add an element of chance, suggesting that Mitchell embraced the unpredictable nature of painting, similar to the way many of us follow our own intuitive impulses. Like other artists, I reckon she wanted to convey something beyond what words can express. Her work reminds us that painting is an embodied expression, always open to interpretation.