If you ever see Kurt Halsey, let me know what he’s doing. I have money on the fact that he’s either: a.) Watching a girl, b.) Loving a girl, c.) Losing a girl or, d.) All of the above. And yeah, you could take a look at Halsey’s work and lament on the self-deprecating nature of love in art. But you could also take another step back. Back. Back. Until you fall off the edge of your reason, and begin to tip the contents of your head in the direction of emotion. Love-lost. Love-won. Love-lost-again. And again… And if you’ve ever heard of Aristotle, then you’ve probably heard, in the same dry meaty breath – the idea of universals. Like philosophy, art has always worked with universals. Forms. Ideas. Yellow. Blue. Red. Triangle. Square. Being. And yes, love. And while I’m set on the idea that Kurt Halsey isn’t just wholly some sappy romantic – I am set on the fact that he is quirky. The best illustration of this? The element that lends him a strong reach into his audience's comic strip attention span: his use of words and phrases in his paintings. This is not to say that Halsey’s textures and compositions do not garner merit. To the contrary: his eye for space, depth and grain is remarkable. The characters are distinctly Halsey. His fractured panels read like a book of balance candy for the eye. His colors are rich and swirling. Intoxicating. Like the spring wind blew in the summer zephyr and once again love is in the lap of the viewer. But still, it’s his words that lure. And while he does predicate his notion for words in his work on the attributes attained in the daily newspaper funnies - his word selection is in high taste. Carefully crafted, Halsey gave his language-brain a hefty fifth of courage. And wit. And punch. And it starts with his clever titles. From the sometimes airy, but nevertheless telling titles of “So Much Between Us”, and his drawing, “Target Practice” – to the eloquent, “Breathed Wishes Blowing”, or the prolific, “As I drove home, I sighed at each and every one of the miles between us”. Working within one of humanity’s lauded universals, Kurt Halsey has exhibited the courage to unfold himself in front of his audience. His sensible depiction of love, life and relationships in its myriad of facets is realistic; and ripe with feeling. And whether or not you agree with Halsey’s portrayal of love – you do sense that his paintings are works born out of experience. And in the end, that’s the kind of honesty we all are thirsty for. Visit Kurt's website at: www.kurthalsey.com