Study for Improv 1998

Ernie Barnes made this Study for Improv, with what looks like acrylic paint, to capture a moment, a feeling, something fleeting. It feels like the making of it was the most important thing. Look at how Barnes uses these earthy yellows and browns for the background, kind of like a stage, or maybe even a memory. You can see the strokes, the way the paint moves, it’s not trying to hide. And then the figure, that dancer, so alive with gesture. The way Barnes paints the hands, elongated and expressive, reaching out. They grab your attention, don’t they? There’s a kind of urgency to this painting, a need to capture the feeling of movement and improvisation. It's reminiscent of someone like Jacob Lawrence, who also knew how to tell a story with color and movement, but Barnes has got this looser, more immediate feel. It’s like he’s saying, “Don’t just look, feel it."