Welsh Landscape 1914

Augustus John, at some point, made this painting of a Welsh Landscape, with who knows what kind of paint. It's one of those scenes that feels quickly captured, right? Look at the way the brushstrokes kind of dance around, especially in the foreground, like energetic scribbles describing all that grassy stuff. The paint isn't trying to trick you, it is just there. The mountain in the background is really built up with layers. You can see the little peaks of paint where the brush lifted off the surface. And the colors! That ochre, that muted lavender shadow on the mountain, it gives the whole scene a dreamy, slightly melancholy feel. It reminds me a little of Corot, who also had this knack for capturing light and mood with a few, well-chosen strokes. But where Corot is soft, John has something more raw, more direct. It's like he’s saying, "Here it is, take it or leave it." Like any good painting, it leaves you with more questions than answers.