Glaze Painting: Cobalt Violet 1995

Marcia Hafif made this Cobalt Violet Glaze painting. Can you imagine the meditative state Hafif must have been in, moving color ever so gradually across the canvas? It’s a beautiful, simple act, and that single color contains multitudes. It’s not just pink, but the feeling of pink, the idea of pink, a whole history of pink. I can see this glaze being built up layer after layer, each one nuanced and slightly different. Look closely, and you’ll see the subtle vertical strokes she made, each one a record of her touch, her presence, her careful and repetitive movements. There's something about the scale, too, that feels so intimate. It's like she's inviting us into a very personal space, a space where we can slow down, breathe, and just be with this color. Painters are always in conversation with each other, right? Thinking, feeling, seeing - how one small gesture can communicate so much.