House with Dutch Roof c. 1928

John Marin made this painting, House with Dutch Roof, with oil on canvas. Look at the way the paint kind of sits on the surface, almost like a collection of coloured rocks. It’s about how painting itself can be a form of building, of constructing a world through material. I find myself drawn to the lower right corner. See how the red of the house seems to bleed into the snow? It’s a small detail, but it suggests a kind of melting, a merging of forms that speaks to the fluidity of paint. The colours are both representational and abstract. The house is a house, but it's also just paint, just colour, just texture. Marin reminds me a little of Marsden Hartley, especially in the way he handles paint, a bit rough, a bit raw, but always with a sense of urgency and directness. For Marin, like Hartley, painting isn't about capturing a perfect likeness, but about capturing a feeling.