Ornamentstudier og skitser af krukker 1906

This sketchbook page with ornament studies and sketches of jars was made by Niels Larsen Stevns. You can see the artist was working out ideas here; there are circular motifs, studies of pots, and foliate patterns on the painted page to the left. I can imagine the artist's hand moving across the page, shifting and adjusting the weight of the marks, trying to get the balance right between the ornament and the curve of the vessel. Do you see that the artist even uses the grid of the paper to line up the shapes? Look how Stevns uses the circle to contain the compositions, like a frame for his imagination, with quirky motifs inside. I am thinking of other artists who have used sketchbooks to explore new ideas, from Leonardo to Delacroix. It's like they are all in conversation across time, inspiring each other. Painting allows for so many different ways of seeing the world, embracing uncertainty, and opening up possibilities.