Falmouth 1915

Muirhead Bone created this etching called 'Falmouth' with the intention of capturing a broad landscape. Look at those thousands of tiny marks, and consider what it might have been like to create this. Bone may have been perched in a high spot, carefully observing the distribution of light and shadow across the town. The scene is rendered in soft shades of sepia, creating a hazy panoramic view that invites the viewer to explore its many details. I can imagine him being totally consumed by the act of translating the three-dimensional world onto a two-dimensional plane. The marks in the foreground look a little scribbled and messy, but that's okay. There’s a rawness that gives the image its power. It reminds me of other artists who embrace imperfections and spontaneity in their work. Like Cy Twombly who would let drips and smudges become part of the painting's language. Artists are always in conversation and exchange of ideas, inspiring one another's creativity across time. Painting is an act of embodied expression.