Crane, Boats, and Dock 1938

Donald Carlisle Greason made this drawing called "Crane, Boats, and Dock" with ink on paper. The limited color palette – just shades of gray and black – emphasizes the process of making, the layering of washes, the clarity of the lines. I love the way Greason uses simple washes of gray to create depth and atmosphere in this scene. The strokes are confident, economical, like he’s really trying to say a lot with just a few marks. Look at the rocks in the foreground, how the outlines are so clear and assertive, but also how they dissolve into the wash. You get a real sense of the artist observing and thinking. You can almost feel Greason thinking, ‘how little do I need to do to say this?’ This reminds me of Milton Avery's watercolors, where color and form are reduced to their most essential elements, and the emotional impact is huge. It's like these artists are having a quiet conversation across time, about the power of simplicity and the beauty of seeing.