Newfoundland 1937

Wyndham Lewis made this painting called ‘Newfoundland’, and it’s just teeming with angular figures and choppy seas. The colours are muted, almost as if you’re looking through a fog, and it seems like he’s really thought about how to show motion in a still image. There’s a lot going on here, but what really grabs me is the way Lewis handles the paint. It’s thick in some places, like the faces of the fishermen, giving them a real presence. But then in the waves, it's almost watery, flowing with the motion he’s trying to capture. Look at those waves on the top right; see how he’s used these broad strokes of greens and blues, just layering them on top of each other? It’s not about detail, it’s about the feeling of the ocean, its endless power. It's a way of letting the materiality of paint speak its own language. Lewis’s work reminds me a little of some Italian Futurists, especially how they tried to show movement. But Lewis has his own distinct style, more angular, less romantic, more about the rough edges of life. Art’s all about seeing what’s been done and then doing it your own way, right?