The Fishing Barge c. 1935

This drawing, The Fishing Barge, by Everett Gee Jackson is a symphony in graphite. The artist's hand moved with such confident grace, building forms with distinct strokes. I can almost feel the give and take, as the image emerged through the patient accumulation of light and shadow. I imagine Jackson thinking about the structure beneath the visible world, building simplified geometric forms like a Cubist, only to soften them with a naturalist's attention to detail. Look at how the textures of the figures’ clothes are built with subtle marks! And the way he creates depth using the scale of the figures. There’s a dreamlike quality to this fishing scene, like something out of Marsden Hartley, or even Milton Avery. It feels suspended in time, these figures calmly going about their day. Jackson's work reminds me that we are all connected through the act of looking and making. Each artist builds on what came before, adding their voice to the conversation. We all pick up the fishing rod!