Gezicht op het Damrak te Amsterdam 1907

Here's George Hendrik Breitner's pencil sketch of the Damrak in Amsterdam. Look at the way the buildings and boats are made with simple, direct marks. It's like seeing the artist's thinking, moment by moment. The lines aren't fussy, they're just there, doing their job, capturing the scene's essence. There's a raw, immediate feel to it, you can almost feel the pencil scratching on the paper. The texture is the paper itself, plain and unadorned, which makes the lines really stand out. Notice the darker smudges where Breitner bore down harder, suggesting depth and shadow. The quick, confident strokes describe the boats, but they also give a sense of the city's hustle. It reminds me of some of Philip Guston's late drawings, that same kind of searching, honest mark-making. Art isn't about perfection, it's about finding something real in the process.