Palms 1917

John Singer Sargent painted these palms with watercolor. I wonder, did he do this en plein air? You can see how Sargent works fast, wet on wet, in a way that exploits the fluid potential of watercolor. The blues and greens wash and blend into each other, suggesting the humid atmosphere of the tropics. The tree trunks are rendered in a pale, almost ghostly, white, making them look like slender, soaring columns. They remind me of the way Monet painted light on the Rouen Cathedral. I wonder if Sargent felt the same way I often feel when I'm painting: unsure, but full of energy and hopeful anticipation. He likely made some intuitive decisions, letting the water and pigment lead him, trusting his instincts to capture the fleeting effects of light and shadow. Painting is an ongoing conversation across time, and we artists keep inspiring each other, chasing something that can't be pinned down. We embrace ambiguity, knowing that there isn't only one way to see the world.