My heart immediately fell victim to these paintings by JW Caldwell. His figures are minimally detailed and largely faceless, constructed from wild folds that focus your attention on motion rather than emotion. They flip and twist to one side or the other of the canvas, suspended for that split-second before they crumple into a pile of hurt. He coats his broncos with the same bright saccharine-sweet colors as his cowboys, tying them to each other even as they are flung apart.
With its dark background and shimmery blue figures, “Spooked” appears, to me, to be unfolding on the moon. And Moon Cowboys is celebrating with a “yeehaw!”. I also love the colors in “Tossed” (above) and “Yellow Slip”. There’s nothing better than a little candy-dipped Americana!
You can purchase his work at Trifecta Gallery in Las Vegas.
Yellow Slip
Reared
My Hat
Flap
Spooked
Battle Bunny 