Pollywog Cove 1986

Peter Alexander gently painted ‘Pollywog Cove’ using fluid strokes of diluted color and a soft, dreamy palette. The washes of pale blue and pink suggest a landscape, maybe, but one that's dissolving into pure color and light. I can almost feel Peter in front of his canvas, layering those delicate hues, coaxing them into being. The paint looks thin, almost like watercolor, which makes me think about control versus surrender. How much did he let the paint flow and blend on its own, and how much did he guide it? Those rosy pink mountains on either side of the cove! They remind me of the way Milton Avery would abstract a scene, reducing it to its bare essentials. It's like they’re both searching for the emotional essence of a place. Painters are constantly responding to each other across time, riffing on ideas, pushing boundaries. And with a painting like this, it feels like Peter is whispering a secret about how to see the world, not just as it is, but as it could be: a place of quiet beauty and endless possibility.