Nalon 1968

James Brooks made "Nalon" with oil paint, and I find it intriguing how he lets the process show so openly. It’s like he’s thinking out loud with the brush. I’m drawn to the way Brooks uses color and texture. The surface isn’t uniform; you can see the layering and scraping, the history of the painting's making. The thin black lines that crisscross the canvas feel like tentative gestures, mapping out a space that’s both abstract and somehow familiar. Take that big, light-blue shape on the right: it’s flat, almost like a piece of paper collaged onto the canvas, but then you notice the subtle variations in tone and texture, the way it interacts with the surrounding marks. It reminds me a little of Robert Motherwell’s collages, but with a looser, more painterly touch. Ultimately, it’s a reminder that painting is always a conversation, an ongoing exchange of ideas and gestures across time.