Gezicht op Heerjansdam aan de Oude Maas 1907

Alexander Shilling made this pen drawing of Gezicht op Heerjansdam aan de Oude Maas. I can just imagine him there in the Dutch countryside, quickly making marks to capture the scene, the masts of the boats, and the buildings beyond. Look at that dark area on the left representing a tree; you can almost feel the scratching of the pen, the building up of lines to create depth and shadow. I wonder what Shilling was thinking when he made this drawing. Was he trying to capture a fleeting moment, or was he more interested in the overall composition? You can see he wasn’t afraid of a wonky line or an awkward angle. I love that he chose to represent the scene with such directness. It’s as if he’s saying, “This is what I see, and this is how I feel about it.” It reminds me of some of the landscape drawings I do when I just want to capture what is around me without overthinking it too much. There is something so honest about those kinds of marks.