Girl in Boat 1935

This is a black and white photograph by Nathan Lerner, called Girl in Boat. I wonder what it was like for Lerner to be in that boat, watching the girl. I imagine the gentle rocking, the quiet lapping of the water against the hull. And the girl, shielding her eyes from the sun, lost in her own thoughts. There is a sense of intimacy, as though we're intruding on a private moment. The composition is so simple – the horizontal stripes of the boat, the dark curve of her arm, the expanse of water stretching out behind her – yet it captures a feeling of peacefulness. It reminds me of other artist friends, and how they are continuously finding new ways to capture a feeling and share that with others. There is a connection between photography and painting, both exploring the poetics of light and shadow, surface and depth. Artists share ideas across time, inspiring and challenging each other. Painting, like photography, is about seeing and feeling, a way of expressing something that can't be put into words.