The day 1917

Martiros Sarian made "The Day" with paint on canvas, and it's how he laid down those colours that gets me thinking about painting as a process of discovery. Look at how the colours don't quite match reality, but they feel right. The hills are stripes of green and brown, the buildings blocks of red and blue. It's like Sarian is building a world from scratch. The paint isn't trying to trick you; it's just, well, paint! It's thick in some spots, thin in others, and you can almost see the brushstrokes dancing around. Take the oxen, for example. They’re these big, blocky shapes of black, but then there's that little white hat on one of them! It's playful, unexpected, and it brings the whole painting to life. There’s something Matisse-like about Sarian's flattening of space and bold use of colour. Both artists remind us that painting isn't about copying what you see, but about creating something new. It's an invitation to dream, to imagine, and to see the world in a different light.