Grouping, Nude Figures c. 1935

John Marin made this watercolor, Grouping, Nude Figures, sometime in his career, and its approach to mark making is all about capturing a fleeting sense of movement and light. You can almost feel him thinking through the act of painting, embracing mistakes and finding beauty in the unexpected. The physicality of the medium really stands out here. Marin's use of thin, transparent washes allows the paper to shine through, creating a luminous effect. There's this one area, around the figures at the center, where he's layered the colors, building up a sense of depth and shadow. You can almost see how the water spread and pooled on the page. It's like he's inviting us to witness the painting come into being, layer by layer. Marin's work, particularly his cityscapes, often comes to mind. Like those, this piece feels like a dance between representation and abstraction.