Rocks and Cranes 1937

Donald Greason made this drawing of Rocks and Cranes with crayon on paper. The marks feel immediate, the kind of study made on site. Like an artist working out the kinks in their thinking, we see the cranes looming and the rocks jutting. It is as if he is working out what to leave in and what to leave out. I like the way the crayon has been dragged across the surface of the paper, almost fighting with the tooth of it. You can see the pressure he's applying in the marks, some thin and wiry, others thick and smudged. Look at the lower portion of the rocks, the frantic scribbling which pulls them forward. It’s a great shorthand for the sensation of standing on unstable ground. Greason’s work reminds me of drawings by Marsden Hartley. Both artists looked to their surroundings for inspiration. But beyond that, it’s the feeling that drawing is thinking. It’s a process of finding form in chaos, which is something I can really relate to.