Begroeide bomen in Dordtwijk c. 2013

Rein Dool made this drawing, Begroeide bomen in Dordtwijk, using graphite, maybe charcoal, on paper. It’s a scene with trees, lake and hills, but really it's about mark-making and how marks create an image. Look how Dool coaxes so many different textures out of his materials. The tree on the right is super interesting – a cascade of marks that give a rich, almost overgrown feel. Those dense, textured marks that define the trees are full of energy, like he’s really digging into the paper. And notice how these marks create depth and shadow, giving the trees real presence. It’s like he's wrestling with the image, and that struggle becomes part of its beauty. Dool's work reminds me a bit of Lucian Freud, not in subject matter, but in the way he seems to be searching for something real and raw. Art is about that journey, that conversation, rather than a perfect, fixed statement, right?