In the Tropics 1928

Arthur Briscoe made this etching called 'In the Tropics' at an unknown date. I can imagine him bent over a plate, scratching at the metal with a needle, trying to capture the vastness of the sea. Look at the density of the marks, how they create a sense of depth and space. See how the lines thicken and thin, creating a rhythm that mimics the movement of the waves and the billowing sails. What’s so great is that you can almost feel the boat rocking and swaying in the warm breeze, can’t you? I find myself wondering what it was like for Briscoe to be out there on the water, surrounded by nothing but the sky and the sea. The dark, hatched lines are the best – such economy! It reminds me of other artists, like Rembrandt, who used etching to explore the nuances of light and shadow. Artists are always responding to one another, even across centuries. Etching, like painting, is another way of seeing, another way of expressing what it means to be human, to be alive, to be at sea.