The Nijmegen Bridge, Holland 1946

Alex Colville made this painting, The Nijmegen Bridge, Holland, using oil paint. It looks like he applied the paint in lots of tiny strokes, especially in the sky, creating a kind of shimmering effect. I love how this connects to the idea of artmaking as a process, almost like knitting or weaving with paint. The texture in the painting is really interesting. It’s not super smooth, but not overly rough either. You can definitely see the brushstrokes up close, which gives it a tactile quality. And the colors are muted, mostly grays and browns, but with these subtle hints of yellow, which makes it kind of dreamlike. Look at that soldier walking towards us, how the artist made him blend into the bridge. It's like he's part of the structure. I imagine the artist used small brushes, building up the image piece by piece. This reminds me of other war artists, like Paul Nash, who tried to capture the bleakness and desolation of war through their own unique vision. Art is always a conversation, isn't it? It's never about having one single meaning.