Huizen aan de boulevard te Scheveningen 1927

Dick Ket made this woodcut, "Houses on the Boulevard in Scheveningen," without a date, but you can really feel the era when you look at it. The image of a seaside Dutch village is all in black and white, with the most beautiful textures carved into the block. I can imagine Ket, with his tools, carefully cutting away at the wood, deciding what to leave and what to take away. The surface of the block resisting, then yielding to the force of his hand. Look at those houses. They are not just buildings; they have weight and presence. The rhythmic lines create a feeling of movement, like the tide coming in. The white lines above the houses, are they power lines or stylized clouds? It's so full of contrasts. The crispness of the lines, the softness of the sky. It’s interesting how artists can use such simple means to create such a complex and evocative image. Every printmaker adds something to the conversation that the rest of us painters get to think about too.