Paysage aux ombelles 1965

Bernard Buffet made this painting, Paysage aux ombelles, with oil on canvas, and it’s all about quick, confident strokes. Look at how he builds up the image with these bold marks. It’s like he’s not trying to hide the process at all, but rather celebrate the act of painting itself. The texture is pretty wild, right? The paint looks like it's been dragged and flicked, creating this dynamic surface. And the color! It’s a mix of earthy greens and reds, offset by the bright yellow of the umbels, or parasol flowers, creating a really interesting contrast. Notice the way he uses these dark splatters, almost like punctuation marks, adding a layer of depth and intensity to the piece. See how one of the stalks of the flower in the foreground seems to curve and dance? It’s a little detail, but it really brings the whole painting to life, giving it a sense of movement and energy. Buffet's mark making has a kinship with the work of Joan Mitchell, who also embraced a kind of raw and expressive approach to painting. It’s all about embracing ambiguity and letting the painting breathe.