Concrete Cabin 1992

Peter Doig’s painting, “Concrete Cabin”, seems to be made with oil paint, in layers, perhaps with some turpentine washes to thin the paint down, some areas built up more, scraped back, adjusted. I’m thinking about Doig in his studio, wrestling with the image. He’s pushing paint around the canvas, trying to conjure a sense of place. The forest comes into being with dark, vertical marks. Some tree trunks are a stark red which create a kind of vibration in the painting. Then the blobs of pale green appear to float on the surface of the painting and draw the eye through the landscape. I like how Doig can make a painting that feels both familiar and strange. The painting has a cinematic quality, like a scene from a dream. Doig has clearly looked at a lot of other painting, but he has his own vision. He takes inspiration and then runs with it. That's what all artists do.