Skitser af sejlbåde, adresser og regnskaber 1906

This is a sketchbook page by Niels Larsen Stevns, filled with pen marks, numbers, and some faint drawings. It's all in graphite, or maybe ink, and I can imagine him, sitting in a cafe, or on a train, doodling these sailboats. He’s thinking about form, yes, but also about life – about lists and numbers, about people he knows. The quick lines of the boats, how they contrast with the more labored lists – it makes you wonder what he might have been thinking about as he made them. Was it a form of note taking? He is so free with his marks, these scribbles becoming boats. Other artists like Twombly come to mind, who also made drawing so immediate and free. It makes me think about how all artists are in conversation, across time, with each other, riffing on the same themes but in their own way. It's all about feeling your way through, right?