Blinman (Mt. Patawerta) 1940

Hans Heysen made this drawing of Blinman with charcoal, I think, and maybe some wash. The way Heysen’s rubbed the charcoal, it’s all about surface. You can feel the weight of the land, see the subtle differences in tone and texture. It feels like a real place, a specific place, but also an idea of place. I love the sheep dotted through the scene. They’re more smudges than detailed animals, but they give you a sense of scale and life. I find myself looking at the mountain in the background. It’s solid, but also dissolves into the sky. It reminds me of Cezanne and the way he’d build up a landscape with small marks. But Heysen is looser, more gestural. It feels like he was trying to capture the feeling of the place, not just the look of it. And that feeling is one of stillness, quiet. The land stretching on, and on. That’s something I’m always trying to get in my own work too.