Aangemeerde zeilboot bij een steiger 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh made this sketch of a sailboat using graphite on paper. I imagine him sitting by the dock, quickly drawing, trying to capture the light, the shape, the moment. The network of lines here are so suggestive and free. It makes me think about what it's like to draw something in real life. How do you describe something three-dimensional on a flat surface? I bet Vreedenburgh was thinking about similar things when he was making this. He's trying to put something that he saw onto the page. The texture of the water is beautiful; that repeated zig-zag. It’s very gestural but minimal. It reminds me that drawing is a dance between seeing and feeling. What does the water feel like? How does the boat sit on top of it? How does it reflect the sky? It is so nice when artists share their experiences with each other, across time, and teach us new ways of seeing and thinking.