October Day 1908

"October Day" is a painting, probably oil on canvas, by Robert Julian Onderdonk. Look at how Onderdonk lets the brushstrokes breathe. There's a lightness to the way he approaches the canvas, not trying to control every little detail, but allowing the colours to blend and shift. The red trees dominate the space, and it’s like each leaf is a tiny, separate brushstroke, full of energy. The texture is so immediate, almost like you could reach out and touch the bark of the trees. The sky isn't just blue, but a mix of blues and greys with touches of yellow in the clouds. There’s a sense of depth, which is built up by the different layers of trees in the background and the ground in the foreground. I love the way the trees in the distance seem to fade into the horizon. You can see Cezanne’s influence in this piece, but Onderdonk makes it his own. Painting is a conversation across time, where we borrow ideas, re-imagine them, and add something new to the mix.