Boat on the Ways 1929

Richard Day made this print, Boat on the Ways, sometime in the last century, and what strikes me is how he’s built it from these carefully placed strokes, almost like he’s knitting the image into being. Look at how the light catches the side of the boat; it’s not just flat tone, but a field of tiny, deliberate marks. You can almost feel the texture, the density of the ink on the paper. See how the beams holding the boat seem to strain under the weight of the vessel? Each line seems carefully considered, economical, and the artist’s mark is evident in every stroke. This is what process is about; a conversation between the artist, the medium, and the image. There’s a kind of conversation happening here that reminds me of the prints of someone like Whistler, but with a more modern, almost industrial sensibility. It’s like Day is showing us not just a boat, but the very act of seeing.