Still Life No. 3 1923

Marsden Hartley made this oil painting, Still Life No. 3, with an eye for the everyday and a heart full of color. It's like he's saying, "Hey, even these simple objects have a story to tell!" I love how Hartley lays down the paint—thick and juicy, especially in the pitchers. You can almost feel the texture. It’s confident. Look at the white bowl, how those stripes aren’t perfect, but they make the form so alive. He’s not trying to hide his process; he's embracing it. There’s a real sense of push and pull in the space, everything feels solid and a little off at the same time. It reminds me a bit of Cezanne, but with Hartley's own American twist. I mean, it’s a still life, but it’s also a feeling—a way of seeing. It's not just what he paints, but how he paints it, that grabs you. That’s art, right? A conversation that never really ends.