Some artists have painted only rows of squares for as long as I’ve known about them. Stanley Whitney comes to mind. Dumb grids with no game to them, no compelling color work. Nothing in the facture to add to the pieces. Perhaps there’s a story behind them, but so what?

Other artists pick up calendar painting later in their careers, in their 60’s, 70’s, 80’s. Their calendar paintings tend to be smaller, they’re sometimes precise and meticulous, and often the color work is subtle, suggesting some thought.

There are so many ways to paint rows of squares. You’ll never run out. Still it’s compelling, and maybe a bit sad, to think of artists who have painted narratives and still lifes and breathtaking abstractions and human figures in all kinds of dramatic poses and situations, spending their final years painting precise little grids of squares.

Marking time.

Running out the clock.