In a Levantine Port 1906

John Singer Sargent made *In a Levantine Port* with watercolour, and what I love about watercolour is how it can be both precise and incredibly fluid. Look at the way the light dances on the water; it’s all about layering washes of colour, letting the white of the paper peek through. There’s a real economy of means here. Sargent wasn’t fussing about with details, he was more interested in capturing the overall impression, the feeling of being there, in that moment. The way the blues and browns bleed into each other creates this shimmering effect, like the heat rising off the water. Notice the masts, how they’re not perfectly straight but rendered with these quick, confident strokes. It's almost like he's saying, "I'm not going to get bogged down in the details, I’m just going to capture the essence of this place." This reminds me of some of Turner’s seascapes, where the atmosphere is just as important as the subject matter. It is a reminder that art is more of an ongoing conversation than a series of isolated statements.