Ensenada Windows 1962

William Brice made this print, Ensenada Windows, sometime during his career, using lithography. The varying tones of gray give each of the windows, and the scenes they reveal, a slightly different atmosphere. Look at the lower left window – you can see how the palm tree fronds have been made with small, energetic hatching marks, giving a sense of their texture and movement. The palm tree in the window to the right, however, is made using much darker, denser marks that give the tree a feeling of solidity. Brice knew how to get a lot of variety out of a limited palette. This reminds me of work by Jasper Johns, who had a similar knack for getting a lot of mileage out of a limited range of marks and colors. For both artists, process is everything!