Sunlight and Shadows, No. 3 1913

Donald Shaw MacLaughlan made this print, Sunlight and Shadows, No. 3, using etching, a process that feels both controlled and chaotic. Look how the lines build up to describe these trees, almost like a kind of energetic handwriting. There's a lightness to the touch, even though the shadows feel dense in places. I think of the way the etched line itself takes on a life of its own - the way the acid bites into the plate creating texture, a kind of unpredictable magic. Notice that area on the lower left, see how the details of the leaves emerge from the light and shadow? That's the aliveness of process, right there. The whole scene feels both intimate and expansive at the same time. MacLaughlan reminds me a bit of Whistler, who also loved playing with these tonal contrasts. You know, that’s what art is, it’s about seeing what others have done and then answering back.