China en Japan 1900 - 1935

Patricq Kroon sketched this cartoon, "China en Japan," with ink on paper. Look at the thickness of those confident lines! It's all about the bold choices here, isn’t it? You can feel the artist figuring things out as he goes, making it up as he proceeds. The marks feel immediate, like Kroon is thinking aloud on the page. See how the lines vary, from delicate hatching to solid black masses? I’m drawn to the plume behind the main figure's head. It’s like a burst of energy, a flurry of quick strokes that somehow manages to suggest both texture and movement. I love the way the artist embraced the flatness of the page, almost daring you to find depth where there isn't any. This piece reminds me a bit of George Grosz, that unflinching directness. In the end, it's not about perfection. It's about the raw, unfiltered expression of an idea, a feeling, a moment in time.