The Spaniard (For Picasso) 1980

Ronnie Landfield made ‘The Spaniard (For Picasso)’ with loose brushstrokes of red, blue, yellow, and white—creating a sense of airy lightness. You can almost feel Ronnie feeling the ghost of Picasso looking over his shoulder. I imagine him thinking, "How can I channel Picasso without just copying him?" It’s a conversation across time. The texture looks pretty smooth here, like the paint was applied in thin washes, allowing the colors to blend and create depth. It’s cool how those blue bands stretch across the top, almost like a hazy sky. Then there’s that burst of energy on the left—a dark blue shape that jabs upward, totally contrasting with the calm horizontality of the rest. It’s like a sudden thought or a flash of emotion. The dialogue continues, and painting evolves. Everyone learns from everyone!