Granada 1912

John Singer Sargent made this watercolor painting probably on location. You can see him trying to grab the light, the place, the feeling of the place. It feels like Sargent was standing there, squinting, making choices. The scrubby brush marks feel like shorthand, he's trying to record the light hitting a particular leaf, or the way the sun makes the shadows purple. There’s a kind of struggle to it, but in a good way. I love the way he’s pushing and pulling at the picture plane, like he’s trying to get something just right. It makes me wonder, was he happy with it? Did he feel like he captured what he was after? Maybe he just shrugged and moved on to the next one. I know that feeling. Ultimately, artists work through the same basic questions, over and over. The specifics change, but the goal is always the same: to find a way to make the painting come alive.