Clewlines and Buntlines 1925

Arthur Briscoe made this etching called "Clewlines and Buntlines," and it's all about lines, the rigging of a ship. Look at those marks—they’re scratches really, dragged and pulled. I can almost feel the artist’s hand moving across the plate, trying to capture that feeling of being on the open sea. You get the sense of the ship rocking, everything tilting. I wonder what Briscoe was thinking as he made it? Did he want to show how tough sailors are, or did he want to show the beauty of a boat? The marks almost remind me of Cy Twombly’s scribbles, or maybe even some of the old Italian futurists. Briscoe is part of this big conversation that artists have been having for centuries, trying to capture movement and energy. You know? That’s what painting is about, not just the final product, but the whole dang messy process.