She Turned Her Back on Me and Went Imperturbably On With Her Sketching 1906

Charles M. Russell made this watercolour, She Turned Her Back on Me and Went Imperturbably On With Her Sketching, at the turn of the last century. The artist's hand is all over this image in the expressive brushstrokes, especially in the landscape. I love how Russell has captured a story in a single scene, the cowboy in the painting seems a bit bemused, but I also feel a certain admiration for the woman artist. I imagine Russell in conversation with the French Impressionists. What’s she drawing? Is it him? Or is it the vista, that big sky with its moody blues, pinks, and greys? She's got her eye on something. The quick watercolour marks speak to the immediacy of the moment, capturing the fleeting light of the West. We artists are always trying to find a way to capture something, aren’t we? Looking at each other's work. Building on it, challenging it. The conversation never ends.