Circus Wagon Monkey c. 1939

John Matulis made this painting, Circus Wagon Monkey, with a lot of care and attention to detail. I love the way Matulis uses these muted colours to give a sense of the wooden texture and age. It's not just a flat image; you can almost feel the grooves and ridges. I wonder what tools he used. The paint isn’t trying to hide its own process, but to bring it to the front. Look at how the paint is layered to create the form of the monkey, it's really amazing! All those little marks come together to create a surface that feels alive. I think of Marsden Hartley or Milton Avery, how they both built up a form through simple, blocky shapes. Art is just an ongoing conversation.