Rowing Sketches 1963

Donald Carlisle Greason made these 'Rowing Sketches' in 1963, with what looks like ink on paper, and it's all about capturing a fleeting moment. The marks are so simple, just a few strokes to suggest figures on the river bank, or a rower gliding across the water. Look at how he uses these washes of brown and grey to create shadows. See the way the shadow pools beneath the standing figure? Or the way it stretches out behind the group sitting on the bank? It's like he's trying to catch the light itself, as if the scene is constantly shifting and changing. It puts me in mind of some of the sketches made by Manet - both artists are using the bare minimum to evoke a scene. Like Manet, Greason isn't trying to give us all the details, he's just giving us enough to fire up our imagination. It’s a reminder that art can be about suggestion, about the beauty of unfinished thoughts.