Park c. 1970 - 1975

Kees Stoop made this etching, "Park", with ink on paper; it's a scene so spare and simple. The composition balances on this almost abstract tension between light and dark. The dense vertical lines used to create the trees on the right of the image have a frantic, gestural quality, like quick, nervous scribbles. These marks create depth, while the whiter trees in the centre ground are flatter, like shapes silhouetted against a mid-grey sky. Look at the way Stoop uses hatching to suggest the texture of the foliage and the ground. It is really about how these marks construct the world; the image is made of lines, and these lines create a space. You might be reminded of Van Gogh's drawings. Both artists share this restless energy in their mark-making. Ultimately, "Park" isn't just about a park. It's about how we see, how we translate the world around us into marks on a page. It is as much about the process of creating the image as it is about the image itself.