“Latin Dancers” contemporary figurative painting. acrylic on canvas. 11 in x 14 in.

“Latin Dancers” contemporary figurative painting

Los latinos bailan un baile indigeno.

From the stance of the figures, it is obvious that this isn’t any sort of ritual dance, certainly not Native American. The image in this painting began as a snapshot of two people at a typical American wedding, but once it got in my head, it mutated into something completely different.  Without realizing it, I started thinking about some cold December nights I spent in the high deserts of Mexico.  Before I knew it, a whole series of related images from that time years ago began to flood my mind. I had spent a couple months just wandering by bus and eventually made it all the way down into Central America. I had almost forgotten about all the intense experiences I had there, at least in terms of a source of images, but then this painting made me remember how much I had seen in just a short time. I guess that’s why I’m more interested in using my clumsy art to fish the unconscious than I am working on naturalistic rendering of models to improve my basic skills. At least for now.