Tre skitser af figurer i et landskab samt løs landskabsskitse. 1905 - 1908

Othon Friesz made this untitled landscape with figures, and like any good artist, he didn’t fuss too much. Instead, he puts line down on paper and lets it do its thing. There’s something so immediate about a sketch, isn’t there? It’s like catching the artist in the act of thinking. The quick, scribbled lines, they’re not precious, they’re exploratory. Look at how Friesz uses these lines to define form, to suggest movement. The figures, though roughly drawn, have a real sense of weight and presence. See the largest sketch, the way that he uses hatching to create depth and shadow, and give the impression of figures wrestling. It reminds me of some of Picasso's early sketches, that same raw energy, the sense of an artist working through ideas in real-time. The overall effect is one of fluidity, of constant change and becoming. And that’s what art is all about for me.