Bird Dog 1975

LeRoy Neiman, sometime in the 20th century, made this painting, "Bird Dog", with what looks like acrylic or maybe fast-drying oils. The marks are put down with confidence, wet-into-wet, and you can see how the gesture of the hand creates the forms, almost like calligraphy. Look at how the white of the dog’s spots seems to sit on top, like a collage element, boldly blocking out areas of color underneath. The paint is applied kind of thickly and has a juicy, immediate quality. The colors are punchy and vibrant – bright greens and blues, with unexpected touches of purple in the shadows. If you look closely, especially at the dog’s legs, you can see how the paint drips and runs a little. This adds to the sense of movement and energy in the painting. In that way he reminds me a bit of Joan Mitchell, who could similarly build a whole world from a single brushstroke. With Neiman, as with Mitchell, everything is open to change, alive with possibility, never settling into one fixed idea.