Studie van een boom 1904 - 1908

Coba Steenhoff made this tree study in watercolour and graphite. Imagine her outside on a grey day, rapidly sketching the bare form of this tree. It seems like she captured the essential structure with simple lines and washes, letting the white of the paper do a lot of the work. I love how the thin paint creates depth. Look how the dark lines of the branches contrast with the pale trunk. The shadow cast at the bottom uses pinks and greens, giving a gentle, unnatural hue that hints at the abstract—or, rather, the observed. Steenhoff may have noticed more colour in the shadow than we might expect. It reminds me of other plein air painters, those who worked outside, trying to grasp a fleeting moment. The quick, decisive marks, the way the tree reaches out, it’s all about the artist's immediate experience. Making art is such an ongoing dialogue, each artist borrowing, responding, and pushing back against what came before. It's an ongoing conversation of looking and feeling.