Merci 1992

Joan Mitchell laid down these strokes of blue and orange, probably in France, sometime before 1992, letting drips run wild like tears. Look at that blue. It’s so direct, like a big, bold statement. It has a definite presence! And those orange scribbles trying to push their way in, what were they thinking? I can imagine Mitchell standing there, brush in hand, making decisive marks, maybe battling with the canvas. Or maybe it was all joy, a pure release of energy. It’s like she’s having a conversation with painters like de Kooning, throwing ideas back and forth across time. Painting is such an embodied thing. You can sense the artist’s movements, their feelings, right there on the canvas. It’s never just about what it looks like; it’s about how it feels, what it makes you think about. And with painting, there are no mistakes. Only new directions.