Study for "Black Lightning" (PB7) 1978

This is Ronald Bladen’s "Study for Black Lightning," a drawing rendered with what looks like graphite on paper. I'm picturing Bladen in his studio, working out this lightning bolt, trying to capture that raw energy. It's not just about replicating a form, but about understanding it, internalizing that crackle. The lines are thin and precise, like a blueprint for something bigger, something that wants to leap off the page and into the world. It feels like Bladen is in conversation with sculptors like Barnett Newman or David Smith, artists who were also thinking about how geometric forms can hold so much feeling. There's something very human in the way Bladen uses these simple lines to convey something so powerful. He’s not just drawing; he’s channeling a force of nature. It's a beautiful reminder that artists are always building on each other’s ideas, sparking new ways of seeing the world.