Aloft 1929

Arthur Briscoe made "Aloft" with watercolor to capture a scene at sea. Just look at how the cool blues and warm browns bleed into each other, making the sails seem to ripple in the wind. I wonder what Briscoe was thinking as he painted, perhaps focusing on the push and pull of the ocean currents. The thin washes of color create a sense of lightness, almost as if the boat is floating on air. The sailors are rendered with quick, confident strokes, giving them a sense of movement and purpose. The spars of the ship cut through the sky like a network of thoughts across a page, like Cy Twombly’s nervous lines. There's a real dialogue happening here between the artist, the subject, and us. This is how artists keep the conversation going, inspiring each other across time.