Untitled (The Sand Bar) 1943

Joseph De Martini made this painting of a sand bar with what looks like gouache or maybe tempera – something matte and watery – with thick strokes, and a moody palette of blues and grays. I can almost feel him painting this en plein air, battling the wind and light. The color is really what gets me - the way he layers the paint to build up a sense of depth and atmosphere. He’s not being precise, but there’s a feeling in the way he uses the brush, like he’s trying to capture the essence of the scene rather than just copying what he sees. Look at how he builds the wave using a flurry of horizontal strokes that crash along the shore, or the vertical jabs that make up the craggy rocks to the right. It’s a loose, gestural style, but it really captures the energy and movement of the scene. De Martini's work reminds me of painters like Fairfield Porter or even Edward Hopper, artists who were interested in capturing the everyday life of America, but with a slightly melancholic edge. It’s a reminder that artists are always in conversation with one another, building on each other's ideas and pushing the boundaries of what painting can do.