Bush Sawyers 1910

Frederick McCubbin made this painting, "Bush Sawyers," with oil on canvas. I’m wondering about the movement of the workers, captured in strokes of blues, greens, browns, and yellows. I bet McCubbin set up his easel right there, in the bush, squinting in the humid, bright light. It's like he's not just showing us a scene, but also asking us to think about the relationship between labor and the land, and how the simple act of representing it can make it all look so harmonious. It's fascinating how each dab and stroke builds up a whole world! I like how the artist pays attention to the texture and the quality of light—how it filters through the leaves and illuminates the figures. The brushstrokes are pretty visible, and the texture has a real tactile quality. The energy in the image gives the sense of the back and forth of the saw—an almost rhythmic feeling of working in the bush. Painters are always building on what others have done, it’s like an ongoing conversation through time, and each painting is a fresh way of seeing.