Duck Island, Isles of Shoals 1906

Childe Hassam made Duck Island, Isles of Shoals with watercolour, and you can almost feel him there, painting en plein air. Look at the way he’s laid down the paint, it’s like a mosaic of brushstrokes, each one distinct, building up the form of the rocks and the movement of the water. The colours are so fresh, so immediate, that they capture the light and atmosphere of the scene. Notice how the blues and greys in the rocks echo the sky, creating a sense of unity. The rocks almost seem to breathe. Hassam reminds me of John Singer Sargent, another master of light and colour, although Sargent's touch is much more slick. Like both of those artists, Hassam shows that painting is all about capturing a fleeting moment, a sensory experience. It’s not about perfection, but about conveying the feeling of being there, in that place, at that time. And isn’t that the beauty of art, its ability to transport us, to make us feel something real?