Red-Breasted Merganser 1913

Archibald Thorburn captured these red-breasted mergansers in paint, but when I look at it, I see him in action! I see an artist looking closely at the subject and I imagine the challenge he faced as a painter trying to capture the beauty and complexity of nature. The way the light falls on the water, the texture of the birds' feathers, the subtle gradations of color in the landscape. I wonder about the conversations Thorburn might have had with other painters who also dedicated themselves to capturing nature. Did they share tips on mixing the perfect shade of green? Did they debate the best way to depict the movement of water? That jagged line of the male duck's quiff, or the careful hatching of strokes that build form - the painting is alive with ways of seeing the world.