D. & R. G. Locomotive 1925

This watercolor of a locomotive was made by Edward Hopper, and it's like he captured a fleeting moment on paper. You can almost feel the steam and hear the rumble of the engine. I imagine Hopper, squinting in the sunlight, rapidly laying down those washes of blues and grays, trying to catch the play of light on the metal. See how the blue paint bleeds into the white of the paper? He's not trying to be perfect or precise; it's more about capturing the feeling of being there, the bigness of the machine. I'm sure he had to work fast to capture how the light reflected and moved across the train. It reminds me of some of my own painting experiments when I try to let the water and pigment do their own thing and find their own form. I like that this painting feels unfinished, kind of sketchy. It’s like Hopper’s saying: “Here’s a glimpse, a suggestion, now you fill in the rest.”