Peaches with oleaster branches 1973

Mariam Aslamazian made this painting of peaches with oleaster branches with paint and canvas, and it's all about that process. Look at how she’s built up the peaches with these confident strokes, not trying to blend them perfectly, but letting each mark have its say. It’s like she’s saying, “Here’s the red, here’s the yellow, now you figure out how they make a peach.” The paint is juicy, not too thick but definitely present, and you can almost feel the brush dancing across the surface. I love the little branch she’s thrown in there, it gives the eye a break from all those round forms, and the way she’s let the background colors bleed into the edges of the fruit is a nice touch. It all reminds me a little of Chardin, but with a bolder, more Armenian twist. It’s not about getting it “right,” but about the joy of seeing and the act of painting itself.