Ancient Hohokam Symbols 1972

David Chethlahe Paladin made this painting, Ancient Hohokam Symbols, with what looks like gouache or maybe tempera, giving it this super matte, chalky feel. He wasn't trying to fool anyone into thinking this was real, that’s for sure. The colors are muted, almost like desert tones, which makes sense, given the subject. There's this overall pinkish-reddish wash that ties everything together, but then you see these pops of blue and green that feel really deliberate. The way he uses line is interesting, it's not super precise, but it doesn't need to be. Look at the figure playing the flute; that blue outline is so simple, but it totally captures the feeling of movement and sound. The texture is kind of rough in places, like he really worked the paint into the surface. It reminds me a bit of some of the early paintings by Forrest Bess, that same kind of raw, unpretentious quality. Paladin isn’t afraid to let the paint do its thing, and that’s what makes it so compelling. It’s art that feels like a direct expression of a lived experience, not something overly intellectualized.