Winter in the dead wood 1938

Albert Bloch made Winter in the dead wood, and I imagine that those expressive marks weren't arrived at easily. The earth tones, pale yellows, oranges, grays, and blacks are all there to help set an ominous mood. I think he was trying to achieve a certain level of rawness. I sympathize with Bloch, imagining him wrestling with the canvas, each brushstroke a deliberate act of inquiry. What if it was me? I’d layer paint, scrape it back, building texture and depth. The thick paint would become a record of decisions made and unmade. The lone crow perched on a branch seems to be a witness. Its dark silhouette against the pale sky is like a punctuation mark in a longer statement. I'm curious if Bloch looked to Emil Nolde for inspiration, especially Nolde's use of color to convey emotional intensity. It's all part of a long, ongoing conversation. We artists build on each other’s ideas. The painting invites us into that conversation, leaving room for interpretation and reflection.