Untitled (Abstraction) 1959

This untitled painting by Joan Mitchell is a real trip into mark-making heaven. Just imagine Joan, brush in hand, diving into that paper with greens, grays, and blacks. You can almost feel the energy of her strokes, swish, swash, each one a little dance. Looking at it, I think about what it was like for her to make this. Was she thinking about nature? Or was she just getting lost in the pure joy of smearing paint around? Maybe both! I love how the colors aren't neat; they kind of bleed into each other, like feelings mixing together. For me, painting is all about this conversation, this back-and-forth between you and the canvas. Like one big messy experiment where there are no mistakes, just happy accidents. It reminds me of the work of other painters like Helen Frankenthaler, who were also pushing the boundaries of what painting could be. It's like they're all chatting across time, inspiring each other to get wild and free with their art.