Three Rocks 1949

John Ferren made this painting called 'Three Rocks' with loosey-goosey shapes in bright sunshine yellow, pale blue, and off-white. I like to imagine Ferren, maybe listening to jazz, really feeling the painting come into being, shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition. I sympathize with the artist and imagine what it might have been like to create these simple but bold shapes! I can picture him, thinking, "Okay, let's get that sun-yolk yellow all over, then plop in the blue, and soften the white." There is something so direct about these shapes—no fussiness, just a confident "thwack" of color! I’m especially drawn to the way Ferren places his marks. That dark, looming triangle at the bottom is pretty badass. Painters are always in an ongoing conversation, aren't they? It's all about exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity, like a fun game of telephone. Painting itself is a form of embodied expression which embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.