Houses at Beach No. 2 c. 1935 - 1943

Jennie Lewis made "Houses at Beach No. 2" with graphite on paper. The whole thing is done with very fine lines, almost like she's knitting the image together. Check out the way those lines build up, especially in the trees and the rooftops! You can feel her hand moving back and forth. The texture is incredible, and it gives the whole piece this quiet, contemplative vibe. Even the sky is scribbled! There’s a beautiful rhythm here, as if each mark is a tiny meditation. Look at the fence in the foreground, how she's carefully rendered each vertical slat. It reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin, but with a bit more domestic charm. The way Lewis builds up the image is a slow reveal; not everything is perfectly clear, but that’s part of its appeal. This drawing embraces a certain kind of quiet ambiguity.