Cave Wall Painting Ancient 1972

David Chethlahe Paladin made this painting, Cave Wall Painting Ancient, with paint on canvas. The background is this warm, almost sweaty mix of yellows, reds and purples, with black pictograms laid over it in a crude, but confident way. The paint isn't applied smooth; it's dabbed, speckled, and scumbled, like a wall. It's almost as if he's really trying to capture that feeling of ancient markings on rough stone. I'm drawn to the figure holding what looks like a flute or pipe. There's something so primal and evocative about that image – a connection to storytelling, music, and ritual. The way the black paint sits on the textured background gives it a real presence, like it's emerging from the depths of time. Paladin's work reminds me of other artists like Cy Twombly, who also embraced a kind of raw, gestural mark-making. It feels like he’s in conversation with the past, riffing on something ancient. What could be more exciting than that?