The Smoke Signal 1905

Frederic Remington made this painting, *The Smoke Signal*, with oil on canvas. The light is striking, and the smooth surface feels like a kind of realism, but the scene is romanticized. Remington's work captured the spirit of the American West. I imagine him out there, trying to capture the light, the landscape, the people. The painting is pretty illustrative and documentary – you can see how the artist has carefully represented the figures and their tools. Look at the way the horses’ coats are rendered, and the body language of the figures. It's clear that Remington thought a lot about the narrative. It makes me think about how paintings can be seen as a kind of signal themselves. Like how artists throughout time have used the medium to communicate ideas, stories, and emotions. Painting is this ongoing conversation, where artists build upon each other's work, responding to and reinterpreting the world around them.