Landschap met bomen te Bloemendaal 1914 - 1916

Willem Cornelis Rip captured this landscape with trees in Bloemendaal using graphite on paper. I can imagine him outside with his sketchbook, quickly, spontaneously, trying to capture the light, the volume of the trees, and the mood of the day. The marks are tentative, searching, almost like he's feeling his way through the landscape. The drawing on the right feels more realised, with the volume of the trees more pronounced than the ethereal sketch on the left. Perhaps he felt more comfortable rendering the familiar forms of nature. I like the idea of him working on both pages simultaneously. As a painter myself, I find it comforting that even skilled artists like Rip engage in the same process of experimentation and discovery. It reminds me that art is an ongoing conversation, a way of seeing and experiencing the world that's always evolving.