Reading in the Garden 1921

Frederick Carl Frieseke created this watercolour, Reading in the Garden, in 1931, and the brushstrokes just make you want to slip into the scene and sit down for a quiet moment. I can imagine Frieseke outside, trying to capture the light as it filtered through the trees. There’s something very intimate about the washes of blues, browns, and greens – they’re soft and hazy, like the memory of a perfect summer day. See how the strokes are loose, and the forms are suggested rather than defined? I love the way he leaves space for the viewer to fill in the blanks. The way he's marked the stripes on the woman’s top are so simple, but they say everything. It’s a perfect example of how a few gestures can convey the feeling of a scene. I’m reminded of other impressionist painters like Berthe Morisot, who also captured those fleeting moments of everyday life with such grace. It's an ongoing conversation across time!