Zittende vrouw, hond en een haven 1892 - 1916

Rik Wouters made this etching, "Zittende vrouw, hond en een haven," sometime around the turn of the century. The marks are so spare and the tone so light, it almost disappears before your eyes. I love that! The whole image is built from these tiny, etched lines. Look how they suggest form and shadow, with a minimum of fuss. There's a beautiful kind of economy at work here. See the dog's face? It's like Wouters captured the essence of dog-ness with just a few deft scratches. It's all about trusting the process, letting the marks lead you, not trying to control every detail. You know who else does this? Cy Twombly. Both of them have such a great ability to let their work be open and unfinished. Like a conversation that keeps going, an embrace of ambiguity. It's a reminder that art is always a dialogue, a back-and-forth between the artist, the materials, and, well, us.