Green Marilyn 1962

Andy Warhol made this painting, Green Marilyn, using silkscreen ink and paint on linen. Just imagine all the screens he must have used to get these blocks of flat colour, the aquamarine background, the mauve face, the yellow hair. I can really imagine him in his studio, trying to choose which colours to use. What if he went for a pink background? Or maybe a darker green? What about an orange face? No, the mauve works. The colours he went with make the painting really sing – plus it allows you to focus on the actress’s face. It’s such a simple image, really, but it has so much staying power. Like a good song, it just sticks with you. It reminds me of other artists who work with repetition, like Gerhard Richter and his series of grey paintings. Or maybe even Agnes Martin and her grids. It's like artists are always talking to each other, even across time. Ultimately, painting is about possibilities, and I think Warhol really understood that. Each colour, each brushstroke, each image opens up a whole new world of meaning. And it's up to us to decide what that meaning is.