Ships 1915

Paul Klee drew ‘Ships’ with a pencil, sometime in his career. It’s like he's thinking out loud with a pencil, isn't it? The texture of the paper peeks through, giving the image a ghostly quality. Klee uses line like a seismograph, recording the slightest tremor of thought. There's a little figure standing near the water's edge on the bottom right. Are they observing the scene, or are they part of it? The pencil strokes around the sun create a halo effect, radiating energy outward. It reminds me of Cy Twombly’s scribbles, but with a whimsical, dreamlike quality. Like Joan Miró, Klee creates a world of symbols and signs. It's an invitation to play, to explore, and to get wonderfully lost.