Gezicht op boten aan het Damrak te Amsterdam c. 1903

This is George Hendrik Breitner’s pencil drawing of boats at Damrak in Amsterdam, made sometime between when he was born in 1857 and when he died in 1923. Look at these marks! It’s such a casual sketch and yet so energetic. I bet he was standing there, maybe a little cold, but he wanted to capture it quickly, just a feeling. Scribble, scribble, scribble – those strokes are the buildings. I can feel his hand moving fast, trying to get it all down before the light changes or someone bumps into him. The beauty of drawing is that it allows you to be in conversation with the world, responding to it directly without laboring. A dance between the eye, the hand, and the subject. It’s not precious; it’s about process. It reminds me of other sketchers like Cy Twombly who were interested in the possibilities of line and gesture. And in turn, they all give me the courage to just go for it, without worrying about perfection.