Taking Aim 1983

Robert Peak's "Taking Aim" captures archers in action, seemingly conjured from thin air with watercolor. It’s all about that fluid, almost ethereal quality, like a memory or a dream. Look at the way he’s built up the forms with washes, letting the colors bleed and mingle. The greens and yellows in the background create a hazy atmosphere, while the archers emerge from a cloud of blues, their forms defined by the negative space as much as the paint itself. There's a real sense of movement, an ephemeral quality that reminds me of Turner's seascapes, that soft focus that makes the subjects appear as if they are moving quickly. Take a close look at the arrows—how they pierce through the image, sharp lines against the softness. It’s that juxtaposition that gives the work its energy, that tension between precision and spontaneity. It suggests that art, like archery, is about finding the balance between intention and letting go.