Untitled 1969

This untitled pastel drawing was made by George Bunker in 1969. Looking at it, I feel like I'm spying on the artist while he's working, as if I'm in the middle of his thought process. The strokes here are so provisional—short hatches in greens, blues, and browns. You can almost see him squinting, trying to capture a fleeting impression of a landscape. I feel like I'm standing right there with him, caught in the breeze. That patch of purple, for instance—is it a shadow, a bush, or just a feeling? It’s not exactly representational, but it's doing something more interesting—it's conveying the feeling of being in a place. It makes me think of Guston, late in his career, grappling with the same challenge of how to make something that feels real. It all makes you realize that artists are always talking to each other across time, riffing on the same ideas, pushing painting forward.