Cañaverales 1956

Emilio Sanchez made this print, Cañaverales, sometime during his career. Look at the way Sanchez uses blocks of color to create this landscape, almost like he's building it from shapes. The texture is so interesting here. You can see the graininess of the printmaking process, giving it a handmade feel. The colors, muted greens and blues, are layered to create depth. I love how the palm trees in the foreground are these bold, dark shapes, and then in the distance, they fade into a soft haze. Check out how the trunks of the trees are like vertical lines, anchoring the whole composition. It is almost like a musical score - it really gives the piece rhythm! Sanchez's work often plays with light and shadow, and you can see that here in the way the light seems to filter through the trees. It reminds me a bit of Milton Avery, with that same kind of simplified, poetic vision. Ultimately, art is a conversation, and Sanchez is definitely adding something special to it.