The figurative illustrations, drawings, paintings, diaries, vignettes of Tina Berning have occupied my mind lately. I discovered the work on IG. Berning is based in Berlin. Berning’s illustrations are published world-wide.

I spent some time looking at the work here. It has stuck with me for days now.

First of all, I am drawn to the soft pastel colors (as well as the bolder ones), the drips, the painterliness of these vignettes. The thin, layered washes are so lovely. Layers always speak to me of the depth and complications of life, and they force a lot of “looking”—the eye takes over and the brain sits back.

Berning’s hand is great, as well. All of these drawings/paintings are so sure.

There’s so much range, here: complicated passages, monochromatic studies, elements of collage. One time a gallerist told me that my biggest asset was my inventiveness. Berning has an ample supply of it, plus so many other strong artistic qualities. It’s hard to pinpoint Berning’s biggest asset—I won’t even try.

There is also something very arresting about the eyes—the “gaze”—of these. I’m not sure what it is. Maybe this is what I am trying to work out in the back of my mind. Does the gaze reveal something about the figure or the viewer? Am I making too big a deal of it?

I would like to have a folder or a drawer full of her work, or one of the diaries. I am especially drawn to the visual diaries.