Cosmic Being 2006

Jack Armstrong made this painting called "Cosmic Being" with paint on canvas. It's pretty wild. I can imagine him, feeling the rhythm of some inner song, letting his arm fly across the surface. There's this awesome combination of yellow, red, and pink with some blue peeking through. It feels raw, like the artist wasn’t trying to paint something so much as trying to let something loose. I bet he wasn't thinking about what it all meant. He was just in it, you know? The paint looks thick in places, like he really laid it on, and then in other spots, it’s thin and drippy. Look at the way the colors blend and collide. It reminds me of Pollock, but brighter, more pop. It’s like all of us artists are talking to each other across time, riffing on each other’s ideas. Painting is like a big, messy conversation, and I'm here for it.