THE SHOT 1985

Here is what Ernie Barnes may have painted with oils at an undetermined time, a figure in blue jeans making a shot. I can imagine Ernie Barnes at work here, really feeling the figure, the light, the pose, and the desire for that perfect shot. Look how Barnes has elongated the figure, giving him such incredible extension as he reaches up to score. The artist's hand, moving quickly, has laid down thin layers of pigment, using the brush almost like a drawing tool to outline the anatomy. There is a very light palette of brown, blue, and white. But, let me tell you, that shot, that moment, is a painterly rendering of aspiration. What is it like to go for a big dream? The building in the background suggests a specific location with its own unique history. Barnes, like many figurative painters, really knows how to distill and amplify the emotional and lived experience.