Untitled 1957

Ellsworth Kelly made this untitled painting using bold strokes of red and blue. I like to imagine him, brush in hand, carefully layering these colours, letting them bleed into each other, and seeing what happens! It makes me think about the process of painting itself – the push and pull, the give and take. What was Kelly thinking when he put down that first stroke of red? Was he trying to capture a feeling, a memory, a fleeting moment? The red is so intense, almost like a burst of energy, while the blue peeks out from behind, creating these sharp, angular shapes. The paint seems thin, fluid, which allows the colours to really sing. I see connections to Matisse's cut-outs, where simple shapes become powerful forms. And it reminds me that we painters are all in conversation, borrowing and riffing off of each other's ideas. Painting, after all, is just a form of expression, full of uncertainty, inviting each of us to bring our own experiences to it.