Karer See 1914

John Singer Sargent made 'Karer See' in watercolor, and you can see the wetness of the medium creating these bleeding, blurry effects, like the crisp edges of the mountains dissolving into the sky. I imagine Sargent outside, maybe with a folding stool, trying to capture this scene before the light changes completely. Watercolor can be so unforgiving, but when it works, it has this luminous, jewel-like quality. Look how he’s layered these washes of blues and purples, letting them mingle to create a sense of depth and atmosphere. I love how he captured those rocky peaks, not with a ton of detail, but with just a few suggestive strokes, leaving it to the viewer to complete the picture. You can see him thinking and improvising, like when I paint. Artists are always in conversation with each other, riffing off what came before, trying to push things further. Painting is about this ongoing exchange, this dance between tradition and experimentation, where meaning is never fixed.