Cliffs and Sea, Appeldore 1903

Childe Hassam made this watercolor called "Cliffs and Sea, Appledore" sometime in his career, and what strikes me is how alive and immediate the scene is. The whole thing is about laying down marks and letting them be, the opposite of overworked. The pigment is so concentrated in places; the paper bleeds through. Look closely at how he renders the water. It’s like short hand, or notations for movement and light. He lets the blue and grey dance together, giving the sea a life of its own. This reminds me a little of Winslow Homer’s watercolors, especially in the way both artists capture the raw energy of the ocean. But where Homer might go for drama, Hassam feels more intimate, more like a personal sketch. It’s this feeling of directness, of seeing the artist’s hand at work, that really pulls me in.