Sleeënde kinderen 1887 - 1916

Willem Pothast made this drawing of children sledding with ink on paper, but we can’t be sure exactly when. I love the way Pothast’s lines seem to move with the sledders. It's like he’s not just drawing, but also capturing the feeling of rushing down a snowy hill, wind in your face. Check out the group of children at the top of the hill and see the varying weights of line used to define the figures. The texture in this drawing is all about the scratchy, quick marks. There’s something so immediate and playful about it, right? Look at the tracks in the snow. They're not just lines, but a record of movement, of action. I see the ghost of Picasso in his line, maybe because line is all about process, and how one mark leads to the next. Art isn't just about the end result, it's about that journey. It can feel like it's all one big conversation. Like Magritte said, "everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden."