Deer Isle, Maine 1919

John Marin made this watercolour of Deer Isle, Maine with juicy, translucent washes that bleed and mingle on the page. It's like he’s letting the landscape think itself into existence. Look at how the paint pools and settles, creating these soft, fuzzy edges. There's a real sense of immediacy, like he's trying to capture a fleeting moment or feeling. I love the way he uses colour to suggest form and depth, rather than defining them precisely, these dabs and dashes, almost like musical notes on a page. Take the little triangle with the leaf pattern for example; it hints at a tree but could be anything, really. Marin’s process is so evident. It reminds me a little of Arthur Dove, another painter who was trying to find a visual language for the American landscape. And like Dove, Marin leaves so much open and unresolved, embracing the messiness and uncertainty of experience.