Woman in Bath 1964

Brett Whiteley made this painting, *Woman in Bath*, with oils, and it's all about how marks can be like little thoughts, a kind of visual thinking. The way he smears and nudges the paint makes me think of Philip Guston; a similar playful and energetic handling of form. The skin tones are like a peachy watercolour, so thin, but then he outlines the figure with these confident, dark marks. There's one near the bottom, close to the edge of the tub, where a little scribble escapes the contour – it's like a tiny act of rebellion, a refusal to be too tidy. It reminds me that art is always about letting go a little, embracing the unexpected. Looking at this, I’m thinking about Bonnard, the way he also captured intimate moments, but Whiteley brings a kind of restless energy to it all. It’s like he’s saying, “Here’s a moment, but it’s also a process, a dance of looking and feeling.”