Red, Red 1990

John Bratby made this painting called ‘Red, Red’ in July 1990, and the directness of the title gives us a clue to the way he approached his artmaking, which seems to have been one of immediacy. The thing that hits you is the color, right? Thick, bold strokes of red, laid down with a kind of raw energy. You can almost feel Bratby attacking the canvas. It’s not about blending or finesse; it’s about getting the color down, capturing the essence of the figures and the scene with a kind of brutal honesty. Look at the faces, they’re almost cartoonish, but there’s something really compelling about their directness. Think about artists like Alice Neel, who also weren’t afraid to depict the raw reality of the human face. Bratby shares that unflinching gaze, that willingness to embrace imperfection and emotional intensity. His work reminds us that art is not always about beauty, but about truth, as he saw it.