Reflections 1984

Eyvind Earle made "Reflections" with, what looks like, serigraph on board, using horizontal strokes that just vibrate. What strikes me is the calmness with which Earle approached the surface, creating depth with subtle gradations of colour. There's a play between the flatness of the picture plane and the illusion of three-dimensional space, which keeps your eye moving. Look at how the white, light blue and blue strokes in the right lower corner are rendered in a way that makes them look like they’re coming forward. Earle was really onto something with his color choices, too. The blues aren’t just blues, they’re moods, they’re emotions. It reminds me of Alex Katz, who also makes landscapes about surface and skin. It's all about the process, the layering, the conversation between colors. Art is like that, an ongoing dialogue. We're never really alone in our studios.