Pirates 1919

Charles Dunn made this drawing, Pirates, using gouache and graphite on paper. The way the pirates are hunkered down, peering out over the moonlit sea, makes me feel like I’m right there with them, squinting to see what they see. I wonder what Dunn was thinking about when he made this piece? What kind of world he wanted to create? How did he decide on the color? The dark blue of the sea, the pale yellow moon, and the tan rocks, somehow make the red bandanas and belts pop. It makes me think of other artists who play with light and dark like Caravaggio, the Italian painter. I think artists are always having a conversation with each other, across time and space, borrowing ideas, and making them their own. They experiment and try to find new ways of seeing and feeling, making their own mark.