Elephant Nocturne 1984

LeRoy Neiman, sometime in the last century, made this painting with bold strokes and a cool, nocturnal palette. The canvas seems to buzz with an energy that captures the majesty of these creatures. I can imagine Neiman standing before the canvas, brush loaded with thick paint, ready to pounce. What’s so great about painting is you’re trying to capture a glimpse of something real, but it can never be perfectly replicated. It’s like he’s saying, “I see you, elephants, in all your night time glory.” See how he lets the blue drip and run? That’s the feeling of the night settling in, heavy and mysterious. There’s a real physicality here, a sense of the paint itself becoming part of the subject. It reminds me of how artists are always in conversation, borrowing and riffing off each other's ideas across time. Painting is really a way to explore uncertainty, inviting us to see and feel in new ways.