Sails 1912

Arthur Dove made this painting, Sails, with pastel. What I see is mostly a world of ochres, greens, browns, and blues. I can imagine Dove with the pastel in hand, tentatively making a mark, and then another, and another, until some kind of feeling starts to emerge out of the coloured dust. I sympathize with the artist, and how the painting might have developed, stroke by stroke. Was there an image in his head? Maybe. But it's like he was discovering what he was thinking as he worked. Take those ochre sails, for instance: the pastel is applied in such a way that you can see the textured surface of the paper underneath. Each mark is a feeling and an intention, a gesture of the hand. It's like Dove is saying, “I am here, feeling this, thinking this.” Painters are always in dialogue with each other, right? So when I look at this, I can’t help but think of Marsden Hartley and Georgia O’Keeffe, who are also finding new ways to express feeling and experience through color and form. But ultimately painting isn't about certainty, it’s about embracing ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations, keeping the conversation alive.