Garden in Saint Denis 1980

Betty Parsons made this painting, "Garden in Saint Denis," with what looks like oil stick or maybe pastel. The marks are immediate and raw, like seeing how a thought becomes a thing. I love how she uses the blue line to contain each shape but also to let it breathe. It's like the colours are both separate and together at the same time. Look at how the colours don't quite fill the shapes they make, how black peeks through as if the garden is a memory or a dream. Parsons's marks remain visible and assert the process of making as part of the painting. You can see a similar way of working in Forrest Bess, who had a similarly intuitive, process-driven approach. It’s nice to think of Betty and Forrest painting, each figuring something out on their own, but somehow in conversation.