“Final Tractor Run”

In my world of sumi-e, when we see a painting in which negative space is little to none and inordinate amounts of ink and watercolor pigments layer one another and dry brush stokes look over the top, we say the piece is a little “dirty.” I admit that “Final Tractor Run” is, indeed, a dirty painting. When one of my friends first saw the work he called it, not dirty but “gnarly,” but I think he really meant dirty. Anyway, all that said, to me dirty seems the correct style for the mix of natural little souls, the depleted soil, the broken remains of harvest and the hint of commerial farming— it’s a gnarly mix. There’s something rough and dirty here; like two kids in a good natured backyard wrestlling match with their dad.