"... in whom I am well pleased..." 1940

Prentiss Taylor made this black and white print of a baptism scene somewhere, sometime, using lithographic crayon on paper. Look at the way the light streams down, like a benediction, rendered with soft strokes giving it a palpable weight. Taylor coaxes a full range of tones from the litho crayon, from the solid darks of the figures immersed in water, to the wispy greys of the surrounding foliage. See how the artist uses these tonal shifts to guide your eye, creating depth and atmosphere. The figures stand in the water, with hands raised, surrendering to something bigger. For me, this sense of being submerged, of allowing oneself to be guided, speaks to the very act of artmaking. It reminds me of Charles Burchfield's landscapes, with their vibrating lines and animistic forms, both artists embracing a similar sense of ecstatic communion with the world. Art is a conversation, and there's no one right way to understand it.