Ladakh. Golden clouds over blue mountains. 1943

Nicholas Roerich made this painting of mountains using soft strokes of blue and lilac hues, topped with golden clouds. Imagine him there, maybe squinting a little as he captures the light. I’m thinking about the decisions he must have made when he put down that first mark, maybe a hesitant stroke, testing the waters, before diving into the depths of those mountains. Each layer of color feels like a breath, a whispered secret between the artist and the canvas. Look at how the blue seeps into the lilac, creating a sense of depth that pulls you in. That single stroke of white sliding down the mountain suggests the cool touch of a breeze. Roerich, like all of us, was part of a conversation, an ongoing exchange of ideas. He's in dialogue with artists past and present. Painting is like that, a form of embodied expression. There is a generosity in his ambiguity, allowing us to bring our own experiences to the work.