Texas Pride 1975

Here's a painting by Russ Warren, and there's just something so Texan about it. The brushstrokes are direct and bold, like a brand on a bull. I can imagine Warren, standing back, squinting, adding a touch of coral to the sky, now a dash of deep green below – that tension between colors, that’s where the life is! The paint is laid down with a kind of no-nonsense attitude, thick enough to feel substantial, but not fussy. That red outline of Texas – a bit wonky, maybe? – stuck onto the side of the bull is the artist’s own signature of place. It's like he’s saying, “This is who I am, this is where I’m from, and I’m not afraid to show it.” And those teeth! What's with those teeth? Warren's bull is a relative of Guston's Klansmen. Painting is like talking, artists are in an ongoing conversation, responding to one another across time. It’s a back-and-forth, a call-and-response, full of surprise.