Study for "Garden Motif" c. 1963

George Bunker made this “Study for Garden Motif” using pastel and collage. It's like a conversation between drawing and painting, a push-and-pull between control and letting go. I imagine Bunker shuffling around the studio, stepping back, squinting, then diving back in. Look how those green paper shapes jostle with the scumbled pastel marks! You can almost feel the scratch of the pastel, the give of the paper. It reminds me a bit of what Guston was doing at that time, trying to find a new language through these awkward, searching marks. That smeared blue area, see how it almost vibrates against the red? Bunker’s really working that tension between color and form, figuring out how to make a painting that breathes, that feels alive. In the end, painting is about embracing the struggle and seeing where it takes you.