La Pointe de Morestil par mer calme 1901

John Peter Russell made *La Pointe de Morestil par mer calme* with oil on canvas. Look at the blues! It’s like you can feel the ocean’s gentle rocking. I imagine Russell standing right there, squinting maybe, trying to capture the way light bounces off the water and those imposing cliffs. Notice the short brushstrokes, almost like he's knitting the scene together. There's a real sense of movement. I wonder if he was thinking about his buddy Van Gogh, with those expressive marks. Or maybe Monet and his impressions of light. The texture is thick in places, like he really wanted you to *feel* the roughness of the rocks and the coolness of the sea spray. That upward thrust of the cliff face is so exhilarating! It makes me want to grab my brushes and start slinging paint around. Painters, we’re all in this ongoing conversation, riffing off each other, trying to make sense of the world one brushstroke at a time.