Lysanders in the snow 1942

Eric Ravilious made this watercolour painting of Lysander aircrafts, during the Second World War. I can imagine the act of painting it – the shifting, emerging through trial, error, and intuition. I sympathize with the artist and what it might have been like to create the work, what they might have been thinking when they made it! Look at the thin, washy paint and consider its textures. The way the paint pools and settles defines form and evokes an intense sensation of light. There is a lovely, soft, quiet quality to the application. The brushstrokes are economical and deft, and he has achieved a remarkable sense of space. The thin veils of grey pigment beautifully suggest the cold bleakness of the snowy surroundings and the clouds beyond. Artists are in an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. This is a form of embodied expression, which embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.