Sea Bird Saga VII 1966

Wallace Bradstreet Putnam created this charcoal drawing, Sea Bird Saga VII, with these incredible, scratchy marks, as though he’s feeling his way through the dark. The whole thing is a process of building and erasing, searching for form within the smudged shadows. The charcoal is thick and velvety, and the texture feels almost tactile. Look at the way he's built up the bird’s body with these bold, sweeping strokes, leaving a trail of charcoal dust in its wake. There’s a real sense of immediacy, like he’s trying to capture the bird in flight, or maybe just the feeling of flight itself. It reminds me a bit of Cy Twombly's loose, gestural drawings, but with a folksier, more grounded feel. It’s like Putnam is channeling the raw energy of the natural world, and inviting us to join him in this messy, beautiful process. Art isn’t about answers, it’s about the questions that never stop evolving.