Sunrise at the sea 1927

Emil Nolde, sometime in the early 20th century, took to paper or canvas with watercolor to make "Sunrise at the Sea." I’m thinking about Nolde there in the studio. What does he see? What’s he thinking? He's got these juicy blues, oranges, and yellows, all mingling, bleeding, and fading at the edges. Those marks are quick, right? Like he’s trying to catch a feeling before it disappears. See how the yellow sort of hovers above? It's like the sun is just barely peeking out. It reminds me of Turner, someone who painted light, too. Look at the way the colors run into each other. It’s not precise, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s about mood, about a moment in time. That band of orange, right there, it’s like a burst of energy cutting across the canvas. A visual poem? Exactly.