Flooded Decks 1931

Arthur Briscoe made this etching called Flooded Decks, and the first thing that strikes me is that the artist must have been a sailor, or at least spent a lot of time at sea. I can imagine him on deck in stormy weather, squinting to observe the diagonal rigging, the flat waves, and the bodies struggling in the foreground. What must it have felt like to try and capture the scene? Notice the physical labor of the sailors on deck. Look at those lines, the small etched marks. They have a rhythm of their own, like a kind of language, evoking the raw energy of the sea and the men who navigate it. It’s really quite beautiful. Painters throughout history have grappled with similar themes. It’s an ongoing conversation, where artists across time inspire one another’s creativity. And it all starts with looking, feeling, and then trying to find a way to express something about being alive.