Schaap en wolk 1950 - 2009

This drawing, "Schaap en wolk", or "Sheep and Cloud", was made with pencil and coloured pencil on paper by Harrie Gerritz. The colour feels so delicate, like the bare minimum required to conjure a place. I love how Gerritz doesn't hide the process. The hatching in the 'sky' area, for example. You can see each stroke, each decision. It's like he's saying, "Here's how I build this world." There's something really honest about that. It’s also evident in the way the sheep is drawn, with a bare minimum of strokes, as if the animal is about to dissolve back into the ether. Looking at this piece makes me think of Joan Miró and how he also used simple shapes and lines to create worlds that feel both familiar and totally strange. They both remind us that art is not about perfect representation but about inventing a way to see and feel.