Populieren bij een beek 1929

Pieter Ras made this drawing of poplars by a brook, using graphite on paper. I’m thinking about the feeling of being an artist out in the landscape. The way you can get lost in the act of looking. Ras is feeling around for these forms, trying to bring the trees into being with his pencil. I can imagine him outside, squinting at the scene, making quick decisions about tone and placement. Look at the marks he's made in the lower left. The shadows are really just scribbles, full of energy. And they remind me of tree roots, tangled underground systems. I love the freedom in this piece, the way he’s unafraid to let the drawing be a little messy, unresolved. There's a conversation happening between artists, across time, that is all about mark-making, and about trying to figure out how to describe the world through an intimate language. Ras is absolutely part of this.