Boats 1910

Ruel P. Tolman made this etching, titled "Boats," using a plate and some paper. Looking at all those thin, washy brown lines, I can only imagine the artist crouched over a plate, etching the scene into it. Do you see how the image is composed of these delicate lines, like a spiderweb of ink? The horizontal lines create the soft shimmering reflections on the water’s surface. I'm always fascinated by the translation of a 3D scene into 2D, and then etched in reverse. It requires so much trust, so much patience. The result is a shimmering image of boats bobbing peacefully, still and serene. It is all tone and atmosphere. I see this piece as part of an ongoing dialogue between artists across time, each building upon the ideas and techniques of those who came before, adding their own unique voice and perspective. There’s so much ambiguity and uncertainty in artmaking, yet this is where all the magic happens!