And Into the Deep, Blue Sea 

Franklin Chenault Watkins created this work, titled "And Into the Deep, Blue Sea," using woodcut. The stark contrast between black and white immediately grabs your attention. The dynamic composition features a figure on horseback amidst a dense forest or perhaps a turbulent sea. Notice how the artist uses bold, angular lines to define the forms. The starkness of the woodcut technique intensifies the drama of the scene. Watkins employs a high degree of abstraction to communicate powerful sensations. The composition destabilizes the conventional perception. The dense marks, rather than describing a specific landscape, evoke a psychological space where fear, uncertainty, and the sublime intertwine. Look closely at how Watkins challenges fixed meanings through the use of abstraction. The horse and rider are not depicted realistically but are instead rendered as fragmented forms. This disrupts traditional notions of representation and invites us to engage with the artwork on a more conceptual level.