Blackwell's Island 1928

Edward Hopper made this painting, Blackwell's Island, and you can see the brushstrokes on the water, the way the paint sort of churns, like the water itself. The painting is full of horizontal movement, pushing across from one side of the canvas to the other. I wonder what Hopper was thinking, standing there painting this bleak, impenetrable facade. Was he thinking about Courbet? About the way the surface of a painting is like a wall? Did he feel alienated, like he couldn’t get past the barrier of paint to access the scene beyond? The dark colors add to the forbidding mood. But there's also something appealing about it, maybe because it's so honest. I feel like I’m in a conversation with Hopper across time. His painting inspires me to grab my brushes and add my voice to the mix. I can feel the ongoing exchange of ideas that keeps painting alive.