Winter 1903

Igor Grabar made ‘Winter’ with oil on canvas. Look at those blues and browns! The way they're dragged and dabbed, you can almost feel the bite of the cold air. It's not just a picture of winter, it feels like winter. I can imagine Grabar out there, layering paint like he's piling up snow, trying to catch that fleeting light. The paint isn’t too thick but it sure ain’t thin! That blue shadow across the snow almost feels like a physical thing, like you could trip over it. It reminds me of those times when you're painting outside, battling the elements, trying to capture something real before it vanishes. You feel so attuned to the world. Painters like Grabar keep the conversation going across time. I hope he'd approve of me riffing off his work like this. I like to think artists are always in dialogue, borrowing, stealing, and transforming each other’s ideas.