Richard Gibbs 1954

Alice Neel made this painting of Richard Gibbs with oil on canvas, and honestly, it’s the off-kilter color palette that really grabs me. Neel was all about process. She wasn’t trying to get it “right,” but rather get it real. Check out the way the raw canvas peeps through the paint, like she couldn't be bothered to cover every inch. The colors on his body feel almost random – a dash of yellow here, a dab of pink there, and then these super bright blues in his eyes that just won’t quit. It’s like she’s painting how he *feels* rather than how he looks. And those dark outlines—they’re not about defining edges, but about adding a certain oomph, a visual punch. It reminds me a bit of how Guston used to work, making every line count. You can see how Neel’s been influential across generations of painters. It's like she was having a conversation with everyone.