Springtime Rapture 2017

Jana Brike painted Springtime Rapture with oils, creating this immersive scene with a palette of soft pinks and greens. I wonder how long it took her to build up this surface! Imagine standing where she stood, layering those delicate pinks to create the profusion of blossoms that canopy the reclining figure below. What was she thinking as she dabbed each petal, building the density of the tree? There's something so tender about the way the leaves fall on the ground; it is all petals and sweetness and that beautiful girl. It reminds me of Millais' Ophelia, but in colour. I feel like this image could be an invitation to pause, just like the figure in the painting, to stop resisting and give in to the rapture. It reminds us that artists, across time, have a shared language and are always whispering to one another across their canvases. This kind of painting makes space for contemplation; there’s a kind of quiet knowing in it.