Zeilboot op het water voor een dorp of stad 1914 - 1916

Willem Cornelis Rip made this drawing of a sailboat on water, near a town, with what looks like charcoal. It's all about the suggestive power of mark-making. The texture is key. Look at the top half, the smudgy, hazy sky created with these light, feathery strokes, like he’s barely touching the paper, right? Then, BAM, your eye hits the water, and it’s all these dark, decisive, vertical lines. Rip gets the surface just right with the contrast. This sketch makes me think about Whistler. He was another artist who played with atmosphere and light, hinting at details rather than spelling them out. There’s something so generous about this approach. Instead of telling you what to see, it invites you to bring your own imagination to the party. It’s more about feeling than knowing.