Zeichnung zur Fibel_ Frosch c. 1905

Hans Thoma made this drawing of a frog for a primer with ink. Look how the water is made from just straight lines, it almost feels like rain. I love seeing the mark-making itself, it gives me a window into Thoma’s thought process. See that sketchy line that makes the belly of the frog on the left, it shows the artist was working to find the form, the perfect curve, he wasn't afraid to let us see the searching. The whole image has a lovely tension between the crispness of the frogs and the scribble of the background. The drawing has a kind of naive quality, and I'm reminded of Henri Rousseau and his jungle scenes. In art, as in life, sometimes it's the imperfections that make things interesting.