Gezicht op gebouwen in Amsterdam c. 1903

This is a quick pencil sketch of buildings in Amsterdam by George Hendrik Breitner, and I can just imagine him, out on the streets, notebook in hand, trying to capture the feel of the place. Look at the energy in those lines, so tentative and fleeting! He’s not trying to give us a perfect picture, more like a feeling, a first impression. It’s all about the process, the search, the ‘what if I try this’ kind of mark-making. You can almost see him trying to figure out the structure of those buildings, one line at a time. I love how he uses these quick, almost scribbled lines to suggest the complexity of the architecture. It's like he’s saying, ‘Here’s the basic structure, but it’s all about the light, the air, the atmosphere.’ It reminds me that art isn’t about getting it ‘right,’ but about capturing a moment, a feeling, a way of seeing. And how we build on each other's work, you know?