Going Out 2000

Bo Bartlett painted this enigmatic image, "Going Out," with oils, and there’s a stillness to it that just hangs in the air, doesn't it? I can imagine Bartlett wrestling with the grayness of the sea and sky, trying to capture that particular weight of the water. Look how he handles the light on the boat, a stark contrast to the somber mood. I wonder if he was thinking about the old masters, like Wyeth, with his realist style, but then adding his own contemporary twist? The tension between the figures is so strange. What are they looking at? And what are they thinking? The man, maybe a fisherman in a wetsuit, and the woman in pink both seem lost in thought, disconnected from each other. It makes me think about how painters use color and light to convey a story, not always clear, but always felt. And how even in realism, there's room for mystery.