Dealer 1980

LeRoy Neiman conjured "Dealer" with paint, and it’s all about the vibrant action, honey! Neiman’s strokes are like quick jabs, capturing movement and energy. Look at that dealer's face, those blues and greens – not realistic, but oh-so-expressive. It’s like he’s saying, "Art is a verb, not a noun." The surface is alive, the paint thick in places, thin in others, like a jazz solo, improvising as it goes. Check out the chips stacked at the bottom, blobs of color becoming form. It’s a beautiful mess! It makes me think of Willem de Kooning, that same looseness, that refusal to be neat and tidy. Neiman and de Kooning, they get that painting isn't about perfection, it's about the ride, the stumble, the recovery. So, let’s embrace the chaos, the wildness, and remember art is a conversation, not a lecture.