East Point, Gloucester 1919

William James Glackens made this painting, East Point, Gloucester, with oils on canvas. Just imagine him, plein air, standing out there making this— maybe swatting bugs? He’s used these soft, dappling brushstrokes of green, ochre and a little blue. Look at the way the paint is applied, it is almost like mosaic tiles, building up the picture. The eye jumps around, doesn't it? It doesn't know where to land. He’s using a light touch to capture the feeling of a sunny day by the sea. I wonder if Glackens was thinking about Impressionists like Renoir or Monet when he made this? That little figure walking up the steps, they’re barely there, just a few daubs of colour to suggest a person in motion. Glackens is interested in how we see the world, how light and colour can create a sense of place and atmosphere. He seems to say it’s okay to be uncertain, and that the process of painting is a way of figuring things out, not just representing what’s already there.