My favorite thing about this painting is everything. And every time it pops into the timeline every artist I know loses their collective mind all over again because it’s the best shit anyone’s ever seen in their damn lives. https://twitter.com/artistsargent/status/1259191865888432134

Is muddy alligators the best painting ever made?

The trees are just blobs. John singer you sly old dog. You nailed it.

Hey this bit right here? I just... I’m so upset. I just want to look at it forever.

Still thinking about the painting. A couple folks have said in the comments and I agree what is most wonderful about this piece is that it feels like he did it for himself. It’s not a commission or some deep meaningful story. It’s just a moment he liked that he captured

He saw beautiful light on creatures a lot of people might not consider beautiful while they slopped around in mud and he made a stunning painting from that. If that’s not the whole damn goal I just don’t know what is.

I dug a little deeper. He painted it while frustrated with a commission he was working on. This is the commission. Also an incredible piece like all of his work. But knowing he also struggled to bring the same ease and confidence of his personal work to paid work soothes me.