Landscape 1952

John Marin drew this landscape in 1952, using pencil and crayon. I can imagine him outside, maybe squinting in the sun, trying to capture the feeling of a place rather than a photographic likeness. The strokes are so alive, aren't they? There’s a real sense of energy and immediacy in the way he’s captured the scene. It’s all about the gesture here, the way the lines dance and weave together to suggest forms. Look at those scribbled clouds; they're barely there, just a few looping lines, yet they totally evoke the sky. And the colors – muted greens, grays, blues – they give the piece a kind of understated harmony. Marin was part of a generation who were so attuned to the possibilities of abstraction. He knew, like so many painters, that the real subject of a painting is painting itself. I see how the artist sees, and it makes me want to grab some paper and pencils and start scribbling.