Flowers 1948

This is 'Flowers' by Harry Shoulberg, and it's a print, which means the image is made in layers, building up to the finished picture. It's so interesting how he puts down these shapes of colour, not worrying too much about blending, more interested in how they bounce off each other. Look at the table – see how it's all built from shades of grey, some leaning towards blue, some green. And then the flowers burst out of that in yellows and oranges, like the whole thing is blooming right in front of us. It’s not a photorealistic representation of a bouquet, it’s more of a feeling of flowers. The dark, shadowy shapes in the background remind me of Milton Avery, another artist who loved playing with simplified forms and mood, but Shoulberg brings his own twist. It's a reminder that art's a conversation, always building on what came before, never quite settled.