Fire Flute 1974

Ronnie Landfield made this orange painting called *Fire Flute* using acrylic on canvas. I can imagine him, brush in hand, almost conducting these thin lines into existence. The painting feels breezy, and the orange is so warm it's like looking into the sun. Landfield must have been thinking about musicality and rhythm when he was making this. I can see how one mark inspires the next, like a jazz solo. The paint is thin, soaked into the canvas almost, which gives the painting a floating feeling. Look at how the lines scatter and gather, like wind chimes in a summer breeze. It makes me think about other painters who use color and line in expressive ways, like Joan Mitchell or even Agnes Martin. Artists are always in conversation, borrowing and riffing off each other. Isn't it great how painting can capture a feeling, an atmosphere, without having to tell a story? It's more like a feeling that you can just get lost in.