Kippen en liggende honden 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this drawing of chickens and dogs in repose sometime in his career, using what looks like a graphite pencil on paper. The whole sheet is filled with these soft, exploratory marks, capturing the animals' forms. It's like catching a fleeting thought – a kind of visual note-taking. I think of my own painting process and how often it’s about chasing a feeling or an image that's just out of reach. Look how each line delicately suggests the curve of a dog's back or the fluff of a chicken’s feathers. It's not about perfect representation, but about finding the essence of these creatures in simple, elegant gestures. The top left dog in particular has such a wonderful sense of weight and volume, all created with the simplest of means. There's a quiet beauty in the immediacy of this drawing. Vreedenburgh’s drawing reminds me a little of sketches by Degas, where line is used to capture fleeting moments with incredible sensitivity. Art isn't about answers, it’s about the questions we ask along the way.