Archipelago series 2020

Nick Alm made this painting, Archipelago series, with watercolor. The painting is washed in pale greys and cool blues, and depicts a nude woman in a landscape of rocky forms. Look at the way Alm has applied the paint, how he coaxes out the shapes with delicate, flowing strokes. I wonder if it came quickly, intuitively, or whether it emerged slowly.   There is a tenderness here, and vulnerability, too. I find myself wondering about the artist's thoughts as he made the painting. What was he trying to capture, and how did the process itself inform the outcome? I notice the way the artist uses the fluidity of watercolor to create an ambiguous sense of space. The woman is soft, almost dissolving into the misty landscape around her, a dreamlike vision.   Painters are constantly in conversation with each other, drawing inspiration from the past while pushing the medium into new territories. It's about embracing the uncertainty and finding beauty in the unexpected.