Untitled c. 1923

This watercolor was made by John Marin, but the year is unknown. It's a riot of blues, browns, greens, and charcoal, all jostling for space on the page. I imagine Marin, standing before his subject, squinting, brush dancing in his hand. The paper drinks up the pigment as he attempts to capture not just the scene, but the feeling of it, too. See how the charcoal scratches at the edges, as if trying to contain the watery chaos within? It makes me think of Marsden Hartley. Those vertical strokes could be trees, or maybe a cathedral. The diamond shape, grounded in blue and brown, it feels like a visual anchor, doesn’t it? Marin’s not afraid to leave things unresolved, inviting us to complete the picture with our own imagination. I love how painters leave clues, and how we, as viewers, can discover them and make our own stories. It's all one big conversation, isn't it?