East Point, Gloucester 1919

William James Glackens made this oil painting, East Point, Gloucester, sometime in his career, and look at the way he's working with the paint itself! There's such a lively energy here; you can almost feel the brushstrokes as he's built up the image, layer by layer. I’m really drawn to how the texture and color create an emotional depth. The surface is so alive with these little dabs of color. See how the greens and blues in the foliage melt into the ochre and yellows of the buildings in the background? There's one little dash of vibrant red that pops against the cooler tones, it's like a tiny spark of joy. It just shows how a painting can be a conversation, a back-and-forth between intention and accident. Glackens was part of the Ashcan School, and you can see that interest in everyday life here, but with an Impressionist’s eye for light and color. It makes me think of Renoir, but with a distinctly American sensibility. It’s not just about capturing a scene, but about creating a feeling, an atmosphere, a moment in time that's both fleeting and eternal.