Isthmus 2019

Bo Bartlett made "Isthmus," a painting of a reddish cow resting on a small strip of land. What I see in the painting is not just the animal, but also a kind of placid, quiet scene. The land is painted smoothly, reflecting onto the water, and the painting is very still. I wonder if Bartlett was thinking about other figurative painters when he made it, or if the cow was actually there. I love to see how an artist makes those choices, balancing out a painting until it becomes a whole world. Did he start with the background or the cow itself? Was he thinking of some old master? I think of all the times a painter has been in dialogue with those who came before, trying out different ways of seeing and feeling. Making a painting is so embodied, because you have to stand there and move your arm and use your brain to figure out what the hell it is you’re trying to say.