Ah-h, She Sails Like an Angel 1921

This comic strip, "Ah-h, She Sails Like an Angel," was made by George Herriman with ink on paper. I'm drawn to the controlled chaos of Herriman's pen lines, how they build these ramshackle scenes. The way he renders the blimp-like vehicles with these delicate stripes and shading, it’s like he’s inventing a new kind of flying machine right before our eyes. Look at the rain in the last row, simple lines but effective in capturing a sense of foreboding. The physicality of the ink on paper is really present. You can almost feel the scratch of the pen, the give and take of the hand. It’s this tension between control and chance that makes the work so vibrant, the way the medium feels alive and responsive. Herriman’s style reminds me of Philip Guston, who similarly embraced the raw, gestural qualities of his medium. Like Guston, Herriman isn't afraid to let the process show, to revel in the messy, imperfect nature of artmaking. It’s a reminder that art is a conversation, a dialogue between artist, material, and viewer, full of possibilities.