By the Eure River 1910

Gustave Loiseau made this painting, *By the Eure River*, with oil on canvas, probably en plein air, right there, by the river. Look how he's built up the painting with small strokes of contrasting colors. You can almost feel the dappled sunlight on the water. I wonder what Loiseau was thinking about when he made this? Was he battling the wind, the light? Did he swat away the bugs? I imagine that he set up his easel and canvas by the river and built up the image—stroke by stroke. The dark greens are grounded with touches of yellow and the blues in the distance fade to grey. There is a clear debt to impressionism, but it's got something of its own, too. It speaks to me of the joy of being outside in nature, of being present in the moment, and of attempting to capture that ephemeral experience in paint. It makes me want to pick up my brushes and join the conversation.