Rock Reef, Maine 1913

George Bellows made this painting of Rock Reef in Maine with oil paint, probably en plein air. You can really see how the painting is built up, layer upon layer. I can almost smell the sea air just looking at it. The brushstrokes here are so visible, like thick ribbons of paint that haven't quite been mixed. It's a painterly painting, a process which Bellows seems to really revel in. Look at the top rock, the one with the white spray bursting behind it. See the dabs of ochre and brown, mixing in our eye to make a solid form. But up close, we can see each dab of paint, each choice that Bellows made. Bellows was part of the Ashcan School, who often painted urban life, but you can see him here taking inspiration from the Barbizon school and maybe even a bit of Winslow Homer in the way he captures the raw power of the sea. Ultimately, painting is about this ongoing conversation of ideas, and Bellows is bringing his own unique voice to that.