Gloucester 1937

Donald Carlisle Greason made "Gloucester" with pencil and watercolor on paper. Look at how the artist has used loose lines and gentle washes of watercolor. It is a study in contrasts: the angular buildings and chimneys against the curves of the boats and water. The dark, almost ominous presence of the industrial structures looms in the background, balanced by the lightness of the foreground. I can imagine the artist standing there, feeling the air and the subtle shift of the water, trying to capture the scene before the light changed. What was it like to stand there? Did they notice how the hard, unforgiving lines of industry meet the soft edges of nature? Did they consider the relationship of the scene to other artists, like Edward Hopper, who were also trying to capture the look and feel of America? It makes you wonder about the artists who influence us, whose work we carry with us, knowingly or not, into our own.