The Ferryman Proves to be a Rascal

"The Ferryman Proves to be a Rascal" - mixed media on 300 lb watercolor paper, 15" x 22".  Available here and at Artfinder.

I will be moving on from my self-directed study of Rufino Tamayo this week, as I dive back into one of the artists who grabs my gut with every painting and wrings out emotion like a merciless washerwoman....Rick Bartow.   His ability to both capture the essence of something and often use unexpectedly joyous colors even for the most somber of  topics makes me catch my breath.

His work does not invite sketching and skewing.  Rather, contemplation and an invitation to archetypes and peculiar proportions and colors.    And again, as you hear me repeat, repeat, repeat, a willingness to keep your mitts off the paint and relinquish the need to hone and refine.

The Ferryman Proves to be a Rascal

Crow Dancer - Rick Bartow

Returning to today's "ferryman", this one was completed over several weeks using Stan Kurth's method.  It has been turned around again and again - I couldn't settle on a composition - until finally there he was.  This piece was a lesson in sticking with something, even when your frustration level is going berserk in the studio and you'd really like to tear it into smithereens.  There are many potential meanings behind the title (courtesy of a line from the book The Five Things We Cannot Change by David Richo).  But it also applies to a rascally figure, who gave me quite the runaround before appearing with a wink.  Wishing you a rascal-free day, dear reader! :)