Morning on the Tarmac 1941

Eric Ravilious, sometime in the 40s, made this watercolour, Morning on the Tarmac. And it’s not exactly a morning you want to wake up to, right? The painting is all watery blues and greys, all very translucent, like he’s trying to capture the way light just barely cuts through a cloudy sky. It's like he’s using the watercolour to create a sense of atmosphere, something almost dreamlike and uncertain. The planes themselves, and their reflections, are made of soft marks and blended washes. But look closely at the reflections – how they quiver and break apart. It's a beautiful moment of abstraction nestled in a realistic scene, like Ravilious is reminding us that even solid things can dissolve into something more fluid. There’s something about the cool, muted palette that reminds me of Edward Hopper, that same sense of quiet melancholy. Both artists seem to find beauty in the mundane, turning everyday scenes into something poetic and profound.