The left bank of the Yenisei. Kolkhoz 'Luck'. 1951

Pyotr Konchalovsky made "The left bank of the Yenisei. Kolkhoz 'Luck'." with oil on canvas, and I think he knew what he was doing. It's all about how he put that paint down. The texture is so present, you can almost feel it. Look at the mountain in the background; see how he's built it up with layers of purples and browns? The paint is thick, confident, like he's sculpting with it. The yellow trees pop! It is anything but subtle; they're practically screaming autumn. Then there's that birch tree in the foreground, Konchalovsky uses these thick black lines to give us the bark. Konchalovsky was part of the Jack of Diamonds group, and he’s an interesting painter to consider alongside someone like Matisse. He had an incredible love for painting and colour. It's like he's saying, "Here's a world, not as it *is*, but as it *feels*." And, isn't that what art's really about anyway?