Briefkaart aan Jan Ponstijn before 1916

Leo Gestel made this small postcard to Jan Ponstijn, likely using watercolor and ink, and he really went for it! Look at this downpour of yellow circles—coins, maybe?—and these figures caught in the cascade. I can imagine Gestel quickly sketching, trying to capture a feeling, an idea. What was he thinking? Maybe he had money on his mind, maybe he was just playing with the idea of abundance. The lines are so loose, so free. I love how the faces are almost caricatures, full of wild expression. There’s a sense of humor here, a lightness that comes through in the playful strokes of the brush. The gray wash of color in the background gives a sense of depth, while the figures are left somewhat open, unfinished. It reminds me that painting isn’t always about perfection or precision, it’s about the act of seeing, feeling, and responding. Artists, we are all just sharing ideas in a visual conversation across time.