Ruelle du Pêcheur 1902

This is Donald Shaw MacLaughlan's etching, Ruelle du Pêcheur, a scene made with ink and paper, all about the process of mark making. Look closely, and you'll see how the whole scene is constructed from tiny, scratchy lines. Some are thick and dark, building up the shadows, others are faint, barely there, creating the illusion of light. The texture is everything here – the rough stone of the buildings, the soft laundry hanging overhead, the grainy surface of the street. The artist isn't trying to hide anything. There's a beautiful ambiguity in the details. Notice how the figures are not fully rendered. They emerge from the darkness as ghostly silhouettes. This kind of open-endedness is something I really value in art. It lets you, the viewer, bring your own experiences and imagination to the table. It reminds me a little of Piranesi, another printmaker who created fantastical, immersive worlds with just lines and shadows.