Mountain Landscape with Cows 1937

Sasza Blonder made this landscape painting with some lovely thick oil paint, and it looks like the painting emerged through many layers and gestures. I can imagine her standing outside, trying to get down what she was seeing and feeling, probably working really fast. The paint is applied with a juicy brush, and the colors are all mixed up, like greens and blues, pinks and browns, all squiggling together. Look how the brushstrokes build up the hills and mountains, but they also flatten the whole picture out at the same time. There are these cute little red cows, almost like an afterthought. Were they really there? It makes me think about all the landscape painters who’ve tried to capture nature, from Cezanne to Joan Mitchell, each finding their own way to translate what they see into a personal vision. Painting is like an ongoing conversation, where we all borrow and steal from each other, trying to figure out what it means to be in the world.