Mother and Child 1933

Milton Avery made this etching, Mother and Child, with a network of hatched lines. I think about how Avery might have worked on the plate. Scratching away at the surface, he was making the image appear in light, through these marks. He was probably thinking of Matisse, who, like Avery, was economical, always searching for the fewest marks to convey the most feeling. See how the lines around the mother are more densely worked, but around the child, they are sparser. He directs our gaze through the areas of detail, like how the face of the mother is in profile, and the lines lead down to the child's head. He captures the intimacy and quiet of their embrace. The image seems to hover on the page. Painters learn from each other all the time. We all riff on each other's work, but we're never copying. We're always trying to find our own voice. It is a constant process of looking, learning, and experimenting, which allows us to develop and refine our vision.