Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire 1909

William James Glackens painted this Portsmouth Harbor scene with oils in thick, confident strokes that capture the feel of a breezy day by the sea. Just imagine him standing there, squinting at the sun, his brush loaded with paint, trying to nail that perfect cerulean blue of the water. I bet Glackens was thinking about Impressionism, maybe even giving Monet a nod with those dabs of color on the rocks that somehow turn into a whole field of wildflowers when you step back. And those rocks—they're not just rocks, they’re like these solid, comforting shapes, anchoring the scene while the sailboats dance on the horizon. The painting’s surface is alive! Glackens layers paint so thickly, you can almost feel the grit of the sand and the cool spray of the ocean. And look at the way he flicks the brush in the foreground—it's like he’s saying, “Yeah, painting is about seeing, but it’s also about feeling, about doing.” It’s like a visual high-five from one painter to another, across time.