In the Trades 1930

Arthur Briscoe made this etching, called 'In the Trades', sometime between the wars. Look at all those tiny lines – it's a real feat of looking and mark-making, like a patient meditation. You can feel the sway of the boat, and the constant movement of the sea. Up close, you can almost smell the salt air. I love how he's built up the texture of the waves with these confident, scratchy lines. It's like he's wrestling with the plate, digging in to capture the wildness of the ocean. See how the clouds are just barely suggested? It's a kind of shorthand that gives the whole scene a dreamy, timeless quality. Briscoe reminds me a little of Winslow Homer, especially those paintings of stormy seas. Both artists understood the power of nature, and how small we are in the face of it. 'In the Trades' isn't just a picture of a boat; it's about our relationship to the world, and the endless possibilities of the sea.