G.B.W.C. #4 1982

Charles Bell, sometime before 1995, painted this cornucopia of sweets, this glass menagerie. Just imagine standing in front of this canvas, brush in hand, trying to capture that perfect curve of the glass, that shimmer of light on each gumball. What a task! I'm always thinking about the "how" of painting, and this one makes me really curious. All those details! Bell's not just showing us a gumball machine, he’s inviting us into a world of reflections, refractions, and sugary delights. I can almost taste the sweet, artificial flavors, feel the smooth surface of the candies against my tongue. Look at the way the colors bounce off each other. This isn’t just about representation; it’s about the joy of seeing, of really looking. And that, for me, is what painting is all about. It's about how we can talk to each other across time.