Fishing Contest 1940

Leonard Pytlak made this print of a fishing contest with lithographic ink. It shows a bunch of men standing in a stream fishing, with a big barn-like building behind them. I really like this one. It's not overworked, and it's kind of like the artist said, "Okay, that's enough," and just stopped. He probably didn't know when he started it how it would end. That's how I paint! The whole thing is kind of asymetrical and blocky. The way the figures are arranged feels like a snapshot from real life. Did Pytlak go to a fishing contest and sketch this scene? I really like how he made the sky with a kind of messy hatching. It creates a lovely overall texture. You know, making paintings is like having a conversation with other artists. It reminds me of Fairfield Porter and his plein-air paintings. It's a reminder to embrace ambiguity and let the art speak for itself.