The Sloop Inn 1904

Sydney Lee’s print, The Sloop Inn, offers a muted palette of blues and greens that feel both dreamlike and still. Just imagine Lee, methodically layering blocks of color, adjusting here and there, as the inn slowly emerges. I can picture him, squinting in the light, trying to capture the subtle interplay of shadows and light. The dark, ominous sky presses down on the buildings, creating a kind of compression that I myself have felt many times. But there’s a tension, too, with the warm glow from the window, so inviting in contrast with the night outside. The inn is a place of refuge and respite; the print reminds me of the quiet moments I seek in my studio. It's the kind of print that makes you slow down and savor the ordinary, the same way that Morandi could do with a bottle. Lee’s work reminds us that art is a language, and that each artist is in conversation with those who came before, each influencing the other across time. It's an invitation to slow down and savor the ordinary.