Sea Bird Saga V 1966

Wallace Bradstreet Putnam made this, Sea Bird Saga V, with what looks like charcoal, and a whole lot of energy. I love the mark making here; it’s all about the process, the hand moving across the page. You can almost feel Putnam leaning into each stroke. There’s a real physicality to it, especially in those thick, dark lines that create the bird. It's not just about depicting a bird, but about the act of drawing itself, of making something appear out of nothing. Look at the top of the image, where the charcoal is more smudged and blurred. That’s where you can see Putnam building up the atmosphere, the kind of hazy, dreamlike space where a saga might unfold. It reminds me a little of Cy Twombly, in that way, all loose and scribbly and free. Ultimately, it’s a piece that celebrates the messy, unpredictable nature of art. A saga of mark making.