Water Forms 1961

William Baziotes made this lovely watercolor painting, Water Forms, most likely in 1961. Look at the way these watery blues and grays seep into and stain the canvas! It's so ethereal, right? Like looking at something through a haze. I love the way the paint seems to bleed and blend, creating these soft, ambiguous shapes. Notice the thin, spidery lines that trace the edges of the forms. They almost feel like thoughts, like the artist is mapping out a dream. These lines suggest an inner world, where things aren’t quite defined. They're a dance between control and chance. Baziotes' work always makes me think of Joan Miró. Both artists were digging into a similar space, that weird, lovely land between representation and abstraction. There's a generosity to this kind of art. It invites you in, asks you to bring your own associations and feelings to the table. It knows that meaning isn’t fixed, but flows and changes, like, well, water.