Pops Kid and Chicken Little 2017

Here is David Michael Hinnebusch’s painting *Pops Kid and Chicken Little*, made with who-knows-what, when? You can see, the artist throws a load of reds, blues, and greens onto the canvas, letting shapes emerge from the frenzy. It feels spontaneous, like a jazz solo. I can imagine Hinnebusch in the studio, layering the paint thick, then scraping it back, searching for the images. What's so cool is how he lets figures emerge, almost by accident. Look at the wings spread across the top—are they protective or menacing? That single brushstroke can change everything. It reminds me of Guston, who made the weirdest paintings, like Hinnebusch, mixing personal stuff with big ideas. It’s all about that back-and-forth between chaos and control, isn't it? It's like the painting is still figuring itself out. That openness, that feeling that anything could happen, is why I keep coming back to painting.