muttered Aristotle under his breath.

Has anyone ever said to you while standing on the edge of a lake looking at snow capped mountains as the sun sets, "wow, that looks like a painting!" and you think 'wait a minute, no the painting looks like nature!' When did art become grander than reality? So as I walked into Rothko at the Tate, I thought what is Mark imitating, a rusted wall with a square painted on it, marking the spot for a wreaking ball to demolition, or the decay caused by oxidation?

Alison said to me "So what's the big deal with Rothko? I could paint that". Now I don't pretend to know too much about art so instead of using the left side of my brain to materialize some known figure or readymade from his work I simply said "Well, you didn't did you?".

Rothko is simply the master of his medium, a scrupulous chemist. Some genius decided to give it all away by exposing his work under ultraviolet light to examine his meticulous layering and fluent brush strokes. Did this ruin it for me? No! But it did beg the question "Why?" and that I couldn't answer, so I left feeling completely unsatisfied but hugely inspired.

If an artist's work leaves you thinking 'Why' then it has already had a profound affect on you.

Rothko is at the Tate Modern, London until February 1st, I suggest get in for a close up.