Hawaii 1976

Walter Battiss made this painting, “Hawaii”, using, I think, gouache in 1976. It’s a low-key tropical fantasy using flat planes of color and simplified forms, and it feels like the kind of thing you do when you just want to try something out without overthinking it. The surface is chalky, and the paint looks like it’s been watered down – except for the bright red flowers that really pop. Check out the way he’s outlined the yellow chair in the background with a scratchy, nervous line that both defines it and makes it disappear into the pink ground. Battiss’s approach reminds me of Henri Matisse, who also used simplified forms and bold color combinations to evoke a sense of place, but Battiss has a quirkiness all of his own. It's a reminder that art is always a conversation, and that the most interesting things happen when artists put their own spin on the ideas of others.