The cottage children (Rain and sunshine) 1910

Frederick McCubbin painted this scene of children tending chickens outside a cottage, and I’m immediately drawn to his broken brushwork. He’s not trying to hide the process; the paint application is right there on the surface. Up close, you can almost feel the scrubby texture. The colors are like whispers – muted greens, earthy browns, soft blues – but when you take a step back, they vibrate. Look at how he uses these stabs of color in the foliage. You can practically feel the heat of the sun and the coolness of the shade. It's a painting about atmosphere, about the way light and color change everything. It reminds me of Camille Pissarro, with that focus on everyday life, that insistence on the beauty of ordinary moments. But McCubbin brings his own sensibility, a kind of quiet intensity. Art isn't about perfection, but about embracing the messy, the imperfect, the fleeting.