Compositie met gezicht en jockey te paard

This etching by West, called "Compositie met gezicht en jockey te paard," is made using a really scratchy, almost unfinished approach, all about the feel of the line, you know? The color is pretty much not there; it's all about the tone. The marks are dry, and the lines are, too, kind of like a drawing, but with this bitten, acid-y feel to them. This is about revealing the process and the image looks like a half remembered dream. Check out the face in the middle. It's drawn with this shaky, tentative line, as if the artist wasn't quite sure what they were doing or maybe trying to work fast. It's a bit like Picasso, in that it's playing around with perspective and maybe cubism. There’s a dialogue between the artist and the work. It's about the artist having a conversation, not making a statement.