After Sunset, Georgian Bay 1931

J.E.H. MacDonald captured this scene 'After Sunset, Georgian Bay' with oils, laying down strokes of blues, greys, and creams. I can picture him working en plein air, brush dancing across the canvas, trying to seize that fleeting moment when the sun dips below the horizon. Look at the way the brushstrokes form the clouds, heavy with moisture, and the frantic energy of that lone tree, leaning into the wind! What was MacDonald thinking as he painted this? Was he trying to capture the sublime, that feeling of awe and terror in the face of nature's power? There's something about the thick paint and the almost violent application that feels so urgent, so immediate. It reminds me of Van Gogh, how he used paint to convey not just what he saw, but how he felt. It's like MacDonald is saying: "This is what it feels like to be alive in this moment, to be a part of this landscape." What a generous thing to share.