Love the day 

Curator: Nigel Van Wieck’s "Love the day"—it's one of those paintings that invites you in, doesn't it? Editor: Absolutely. Immediately, I’m drawn to the lucidity of the light. It gives off this profound, almost serene, yet strikingly tactile sensation. I can practically smell the salt air. Curator: Tactile indeed. Notice how Van Wieck masterfully manipulates oil paint to construct the scene, particularly in the layering of color on the sails and the wooden hull of the sailboat? This focus emphasizes labor—the skilled labor required for boat-making, sailing, and artistic representation. It hints at class too, doesn’t it, in the leisure activity of sailing. Editor: You're right, there's definitely a sense of place and, perhaps, privilege embedded in the work. But beyond that, I see a contemplation of freedom. That solitary figure, the endless expanse of water... it sparks a wistful desire to just… be adrift. It’s as if the painter is in dialogue with both the activity of making, but also the freedom this seascape gives him. Curator: Thinking about dialogue, this artwork aligns strongly with plein-air painting—where artists engage directly with the environment to capture ephemeral moments, but also challenges it with its commitment to realism, thus to skill as manual labour. In his execution, what seems simple belies the complex craftsmanship involved in achieving this effect. Editor: Yes! You can feel Van Wieck grappling with something more significant through these traditional painterly methods. Look at how those crisp, realistic depictions interact with softer, more atmospheric sections of the water, for example. It’s almost as if memory and feeling are layered into what at first reads as straightforward visual rendering. Curator: It raises a key question: is the ‘day’ a found object transformed through art-making? Or does ‘loving’ imply active labor? Is the enjoyment simply the privileged experience of witnessing a sailboat sailing in real time, or is there the transformation and creation implied through his labor, in both his subject and process? Editor: Hmmm. Perhaps Van Wieck encourages us to ponder the subjective connection with our experiences and the way this infuses meaning and art with… magic. The 'day' and all its impressions is the artwork—the labor involved makes it unique. Curator: Well, on that note, maybe it’s time we set sail for our next artwork. It’s been enlightening! Editor: Likewise. Now, where did I park my boat...?