17 Mile Drive 1918

Rose O'Neill captured this landscape in oils in her painting, 17 Mile Drive. The dominant colors are muted greens, blues, and browns. I imagine O'Neill outside, or perhaps working from memory in the studio, layering and mixing colors to build up the surface of the painting. Look closely, you can see how she's used short, broken strokes to describe the grassy dunes and the rhythmic movement of the water. The paint isn't too thick, but you can still feel the texture and physicality of the marks. That band of dark blue up top - is that a forest or the sky? I get a feeling she's communicating something about the quiet, wild beauty of nature. You sense a kinship with other painters, a long conversation that unfolds across time, inspiring one another's creativity. Ultimately, paintings like this offer an embodied expression, allowing for multiple interpretations. They help us to look at the world and our place within it.