Trees Against the Hills 1943

This is a sketch on paper of trees against hills by Milton Avery. It looks like a page ripped straight from the artist’s sketchbook, you can see the metal binding at the top. I can imagine Avery working en plein air, rapidly sketching in the landscape. The pencil lines are layered, creating a sense of depth and texture, a quick notation of the scene before him. Look at the way he captures the essence of the trees with just a few strokes, it’s like shorthand for the landscape. You get the feeling that he's really trying to be true to what he sees. It reminds me a bit of Guston’s late drawings, these spontaneous gestures that convey so much with such economy. There is an immediacy to this sketch that I love, it's like a direct connection to the artist's eye and hand, the way his mind works. The act of drawing itself becomes a way of thinking and seeing.