Glen Lethnot 1928

James McBey made this watercolor painting, Glen Lethnot, with delicate washes of diluted pigment on paper. I imagine him out in the landscape, working en plein air. It looks like he captured the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere, using a limited palette of blues, grays, and earth tones. There’s such subtlety in the way he’s handled the paint. It's like the clouds are in motion, and you can almost feel the cool, damp air. Look at the way he’s rendered the clouds – loose, fluid strokes that capture their ephemeral quality, some dry brush effects, some pooling of water. I wonder if he was thinking of Constable when he made this, who also spent a lifetime trying to pin down the sky? There’s a similar feeling of awe and humility in the face of nature. Ultimately, the act of painting is about translating our perceptions and experiences into a visual language. McBey, like many artists, invites us to see the world through his eyes and share in his sense of wonder.