Crossing the Missouri, #1 1902

Charles Russell made this watercolor, 'Crossing the Missouri, #1,' focusing on a scene in motion, a group on horseback wading through water. The paint handling is so delicate; washes of color suggest the vastness and quiet of the landscape. Look at how Russell used the paper's surface to his advantage. The white of the paper shines through the thin layers of watercolor, especially in the mountains and the sky, creating a luminous effect. The brushwork is loose and expressive, particularly in the reflections on the water, which feel immediate and capture a sense of fleeting time. There's a beautiful balance between detail and suggestion here, isn't there? For example, the mountains in the background are rendered with soft, muted colors, while the figures in the foreground have sharper details. It reminds me of a Turner painting, where light and atmosphere become the main subjects, and details are secondary. It’s about capturing a moment, an experience, rather than telling a fixed story. Art's like that sometimes—it's more about the questions than the answers.