DETAIL from "The Cliff (at El Fornio)" John Graham pastel, graphite, dry brush on paper 35"W x 44"H

"They shared the zealotry which said there were no new tattoos. From the second the artist pulled the needle and wiped the dermis, Captain Spermis--maybe clean with alcohol--it was like the Caltrans man marking the pavement with his spray cans. This is where that is buried and that is where this is buried, red and blue paint flares in the hands of the lineman marking along what he already knew was underneath: fists clenched in front of thin belly, elbows to tightened biceps, eyes traveling across . . ."