En plein air at -6c 2016

Alfred Freddy Krupa made this watercolor painting, measuring 56 by 76 cm, probably outside, given the title. It looks like Krupa was standing in the freezing cold to capture this bleak, wintry landscape. I can imagine him, fingers numb, trying to mix the icy blues and grays, and make those expressive marks that define the bare trees against the distant buildings. The paint is fluid and washy, bleeding across the surface. See how it pools in certain areas, creating subtle textures and variations in tone. There’s a real sense of immediacy in the way the artist has applied the paint, capturing a fleeting moment in time. That dark line, for instance, that swoops down to create the tree trunk, you can see the decisiveness of the artist’s hand. I wonder if Krupa was thinking about Chinese ink painting techniques here, or maybe even some of the early modernists who were exploring abstraction through landscape. Whatever his influences, it's a really beautiful example of how a simple gesture can communicate so much feeling and atmosphere.