Jury Duty: A Revelation

I had jury duty yesterday and was one of the last people to be deselected. Whew! I know it's a civic responsibility, but is also a tremendous inconvenience. I am off the hook for another two years. And I got to the studio with enough time to finish off the most recent "cowboy" painting. I will post it, along with it's winning title and winning title's author soon.

While waiting in the Juror's Lounge for 7 hours I was able to spend a lot of time with a Sam Gilliam painting. (Not the above painting, but a somewhat similar painting ) It was covered with big arcing gestures combed in primarily red and blue over an underpainting of yellow, blue, green and pink. What was most interesting was the way the layers kind of shifted around, front to back a la DeKooning. This is always exciting for me because I am always looking for the thinking behind the gesture.

Deleuze, I think, would say that is the closest we will ever come to viewing actual experience, the unadulterated gesture.

I am not usually one for Mr. Gilliam's paintings either. They are kind of all over the place materials, marks, color...but I think after enough looking my opinion changed. Which is an important illustration of the importance of the "patient gaze".

P.S. Emergency!!!!!!!!!!!!! I tried to include a link from "DeKooning" to the NGA's Spike's Folly painting and it is not on their site. This makes me very nervous! What's going on here?! Where is it?!!!!!!!!! Does Glenstone own it now?