October Morning (no 1) 1910

Willard Metcalf, around the turn of the century, gave us this painting, probably in oil. Looking at "October Morning," I can feel Metcalf trying to pin down the fleeting light of autumn, you know? He's using these soft, feathery strokes to capture the way the sun hits the leaves. I bet he was out there, trying to catch the moment before the wind changed or the light shifted. Those rocks in the foreground – dark and solid – they ground the whole scene, while the water kind of shimmers and dances around them. I wonder if he was thinking about Monet while he was making it? About how to evoke a mood more than capturing a photographic likeness? The blues and oranges buzz against each other and somehow capture the feeling of an October morning, how the air feels so crisp. It reminds you that artists are always in conversation, borrowing and building on each other's ideas, trying to find new ways to see the world.