Spur c. 1940

Hal Blakeley made this painting of a spur. He was born in 1855 and died in 1995, which means he saw a lot of art! The painting feels like a meditation on an object; the lines are careful, and the tones are muted. It has a real, tangible weight to it, doesn't it? It's as if Blakeley has taken something solid and made it float on the page. I wonder what he was thinking about as he painted this? Was it a study in form? Was he interested in the cultural context, or was it just an object that sparked his interest? I can imagine Blakeley standing in front of his easel, carefully mixing his pigments, and applying each stroke with precision. It makes me want to go back to my studio, pick up a brush, and respond to his call. It reminds us we're all in conversation, generations apart, talking through paint. Painting can be such an embodied way of expressing ideas and the open-endedness of it all is what keeps us coming back for more, isn’t it?