The Master's Hand

A Book of Paintings and Poetry - containing the artwork of Taos painter, Bill Rane (1927-2005) adorned by the poetry of eleven poets from the West and Southwest.

In September of 2007, upon the two year commemoration of Rane's passing, an ekphrasis event took place at RANE Gallery in Taos, New Mexico titled: Reflections on Rane. Poets, reflecting upon their chosen Rane painting, read their poems in celebration of the artist's work. THE MASTER'S HAND is the result of that evening's spoken word performance.

Each painting and a detail from the painting is shown in vibrant color accompanied by its illuminating poem. Andrea Watkins states in her preface, the poems took on unique forms - "As companion pieces to the artist's luminous paintings of women, the sea, horses, orchards of ripening fruit, birds, shells, earth and sky, they wove a tapestry of Bill's world, expressing the joyous pulse of humanity."