Faint Heart 96,922 2008

Kent Monkman made this painting, Faint Heart, with watercolors, and you can almost see the artist figuring things out as they go. I imagine them, brush in hand, carefully layering washes of color to build up this figure, this character. The paint is so thin and transparent, like a memory or a dream. It reminds me of other painters, like Elizabeth Peyton, who use watercolor to capture a certain vulnerability. Look at the way the colors bleed and blend, especially in the headdress. It's like Monkman is embracing the fluidity of watercolor, letting the paint do its thing. And that red on the face? It's so bold, so direct. I wonder what Monkman was thinking when they made it? What stories they wanted to tell? Painters are always in conversation with each other, across time and space. We're all just trying to figure things out, one brushstroke at a time. It’s all just marks on a surface but it's also an invitation.