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the most influential collectors - if not among the majority of established critics. His work was glossed over at first as nothing more than an interesting maverick development. Indeed, he was described by one critic as a "billboard painter gone legit."
Although there is an element of truth in this statement, it misses the point. Rosenquist had worked as a billboard painter, and the influence of this experience on his art cannot be denied. But he worked on a farm and as a chauffeur, and these experiences exerted an influence on his work. What was omitted in this critique is the fact that Rosenquist was an artist with years of experience and thorough training. As an artist, he knew what he was doing. The extravagant imagery utilized in his paintings was neither accidental nor arbitrary. It has the same relationship to his work as the cubist idiom, for example, has to the work of Picasso. This was a vocabulary used by the artist to project a specific esthetic impression. The fact that the vocabulary was used skillfully and with verve was overlooked.
His approach to painting is physical and completely sensual. Once he has developed an idea to the point of visualization, Rosenquist works quickly, furiously, throwing himself bodily into the task of creation. First the rough outlines of the subjects are chalked in, and then paint is applied in an explosion of activity.
The feverish pace of his work is reflected in his loft. It is a shambles. The walls are covered with pages cut from magazines and rough sketches. The floor is strewn with discarded cnas, brushes, left-over materials, pieces of canvas, tools, and other debris. As he works, Rosenqist moves through this chaos as though in a dream. All his energies are focused on the painting, and he remains oblivious to his surroundings.

Every now and then, it gets so bad that even I have to clean it up. But then I do another painting or two and it looks exactly the same as before.

Rosenquist's ideas are arrived at by a rather circuitous route. An incident or a particular scene may provide the germinal motif, or it may derive from a thought or a passing fancy. One of his most recent paintings, for example, is a stark depiction of a large mixing bowl, seen from the top; filled with whipped cream that is being scooped out of

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