Girl on a Hill 1928

Prudence Heward made this painting, *Girl on a Hill*, with oil on canvas, and there is something so direct and unfussy about her approach. The colours are earthy, not quite muted, but still raw in a way. What strikes me about this piece is the way Heward treats the surface. The paint isn’t overly blended; you can see the strokes, the build-up of layers, especially in the figure’s flesh. It’s like she’s building the form, brick by brick, and there's a kind of honesty in that process. Look at the way she's painted the dress, there are so many variations of red, almost like a collage of colours, to give shape and form. The exposed bare feet are an especially interesting detail; like the figure has a deep connection to the earth, a kind of groundedness. The subtle gradations of tone that Heward explores remind me of Milton Avery, a real sense of colour and tone being able to carry a whole painting. There's something beautiful about the way that Heward embraces ambiguity, letting the painting remain open to multiple readings.