Primordial I by James Edward Scherbarth

Plum-dark shapes drift across a field of tobacco brown, trailing pink loops.

Primordial I is an oil and cold wax on paper by James Edward Scherbarth (1949-2021), signed, titled and dated 2019 en verso. Painters working with cold wax often apply it in thin layers that can be scraped back to reveal earlier color. The image is a warm brown and ochre ground, with three rounded dark purple forms floating at different heights. Fine loops of rose and mauve wander across the surface, and the painted edges are soft and ragged. It is 8 inches wide and 12 high.

Before the world settled down, it apparently looked like this.