Au Bord de L'Eau 1901

This drawing, Au Bord de L'Eau, by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, is all about tone, and value, and touch—marks made by a pencil or piece of charcoal, dragged across the surface of the paper. I can imagine the artist’s hand moving swiftly, capturing the figure with bold, energetic lines. There’s a real sense of immediacy and playfulness in the sketch, as if the artist is thinking through the subject matter in real time. I imagine Steinlen grappling with the challenge of capturing the female form in a natural, unposed way, and I think that he may have been interested in the contrast between the smooth skin of the figure and the wild foliage surrounding her. You can almost see him experimenting with different techniques, such as hatching and cross-hatching, to create depth and texture, pushing the medium of pencil to its full potential. As artists we are constantly building upon what's come before, taking notes from past masters and remixing those ideas in new and unexpected ways. So much meaning comes from embracing the messy, unpredictable nature of the creative process.