Pacific Beach 2

Thanks, John--this makes my week if not my entire month! You are so articulate. I love reading your reviews and so I am very honored.

Judith Skillman Pacific Beach 2 is a dramatically hued ode to the Pacific's overclouded winter beaches and turbulent ocean waves. The thick impasto is cut and formed by the palette knife, while the expertly applied brushstrokes define the cloudy sky and banks and plains of sand. The way the grey clouds are mirrored in the sand while the tans and whites of the sand are reflected in the far reaches of the horizon create a pleasant symmetry that conjures the experience of strolling down an empty windy winter shore. Despite its unmistakable figuration, Pacific Beach 2 is so gestural and varied in form and brushstrokes that it feels like a comingling of purely abstract elements that come together to form a figurative vista. But, then again, isn’t that what all painting is, even the most photo-realistic? For that matter, isn’t that what everything is?