Bluebonnets in Texas 1915

Robert Julian Onderdonk made this painting of Bluebonnets in Texas with oil paints, but when I look at it, I can’t help but think of watercolors, the way the blues seem to bleed into one another. There’s something so atmospheric about this piece. It’s almost like looking at a dream, or maybe a memory of a place. The paint isn’t overworked, but laid down in soft, gentle layers that gives the impression of depth, like you could step right into it. See how he uses these cool blues to give the whole scene a kind of hazy, ethereal feeling? The color gives the impression of a memory. I'm reminded of how some of the Hudson River School painters approached their landscapes; there’s that same sense of reverence for nature, that desire to capture its beauty on canvas, but maybe with an almost Impressionistic focus on capturing a particular mood or feeling. For me it’s a reminder that art is not about capturing what is, but what could be, what we wish for.