Landscape with willows 2009

Eleonora Brigalda Barbas made this 'Landscape with willows' with thick dashes of oil paint. It's the kind of painting that makes you think about artmaking as a layering process. Looking closely, you can see how much texture there is, especially in the foreground, with that vibrant red that almost vibrates. I mean, who decided that red and blue should get together like that? It’s like a collision of hot and cold. Then there are the trees, those weird, kind of spiky willows. Each stroke feels deliberate, almost like the artist is wrestling with the paint to get it just right. There's a kind of frenetic energy, but at the same time, a real sense of control, like the artist is saying, "I'm in charge here." This process-led approach reminds me of some of the early Fauvist painters, like Maurice de Vlaminck, who weren't afraid to let the paint be paint, and who embraced color as a way to express emotion. Ultimately, the painting invites us to see the world in a new, more dynamic way, and reminds us that art is always an ongoing conversation.