The Two Beaches, Paramé, Saint-Malo 1908

Clarence Gagnon's "The Two Beaches, Paramé, Saint-Malo" is most likely an oil painting, and looking at it, I imagine Gagnon laying down marks with a sense of pleasure in the process. The brushstrokes feel pretty direct, not too worked over, which gives the whole scene a lovely, breezy quality. I like how Gagnon handled the texture in the water, with these short, choppy strokes that really convey the movement and feel of the waves. The colors are subtle, almost muted, but then he throws in these brighter accents in the buildings and beach huts, which really pop. What I particularly like about this painting is how it reminds me of the work of Pierre Bonnard. You see a similar interest in capturing everyday life, but with a kind of dreamy, nostalgic filter. Like Bonnard, Gagnon isn’t trying to give you a super-realistic depiction; instead, he's capturing a mood, a feeling, a memory of a perfect day at the beach.