Centerville, Maine 1951

John Marin made this watercolor, Centerville, Maine, on paper. His light touch makes me feel like I’m catching a fleeting moment, the start of an idea. It’s like the visual equivalent of a song just beginning to be hummed. Marin’s got this way of letting the white paper do a lot of the work. Patches of watercolor – see how they’re not quite filling in the lines? It gives this feeling of openness. Those blues on top, they’re like quick thoughts of the sky, not trying too hard to be realistic, just giving you a sense of place. And that scribble down in the lower left? It’s so casual, almost like he’s just testing the pen, but it becomes part of the landscape. He’s related to Whistler for me, a master of suggestion, making the most of the least. It's about hinting at the world rather than pinning it down.