Milky Way, 1989-90, Oil on Canvas

I saw a Peter Doig show at the Tate while I was in London, and it didn’t take me long to fall in love with his paintings.  Milky Way was the first I saw, and I was immediately hooked.  I can be a bit snobby when it comes to the way I judge paintings; I think this has something to do with the grudge I developed towards the painting department at MICA. I don’t know, I feel like there’s a holier-than-thou, pretentious air to some painters. They seem to think painting is a more regal, more important art form than any other medium. As is obvious, I myself love painting. But I still have this thing with painters.

Anyways, I have no thing against Peter Doig. His paintings, clearly inspired and modeled after photographs (a technique and mindset I too prefer to embrace), are gorgeous: beautiful colors, beautiful layering, and beautiful subject matter. He embraces the influence photo and film has had on painting, using perspective to his full advantage.

This is how it looks where I live, Oil on Canvas / Blotter, Oil on Canvas

And it’s just nice when a painting aptly describes just how much the artist loves the process of painting.

Man dressed as bat, Oil on Canvas

Gosh, I just love this last painting. It just makes me smile, no matter what. That’s quite a feat for a painting to accomplish.

You can find more at the Saatchi Gallery’s Peter Doig page. Or just google him, duh.