Sluis bij Dedham Possibly 1913 - 1917

This drawing of ‘Sluis bij Dedham’ by Alexander Shilling, is made up of loose, scratchy pencil marks, a symphony of greys, blacks, and whites dancing across the page. I can almost imagine Shilling there, sketching en plein air, wrestling with the scene, trying to capture the light, the mood, the sheer…stuffness of the world. I love the way the marks build up to create form, the way the trees become these dark, looming masses, full of scribbled energy. I can feel him grappling with perspective, trying to make sense of the space. It feels like he's improvising, making decisions on the fly, responding to what's in front of him. It's less about rendering and more about feeling, thinking, and finding his way through the image. It reminds me that art is a conversation, and the best conversations are the ones where you're not quite sure where they're going to lead.