Maleren Tom Petersen, siddende i en veranda 1919

Marie Henriques made this watercolor titled, ‘The Painter Tom Petersen, Sitting on a Porch’ using a delicate and airy palette of muted blues, yellows, and browns. Look at the way the paint is laid down, light washes over textured paper, it is clear that for Henriques, artmaking is about the act of seeing and the way you translate what you see into marks. The translucent quality of the watercolor allows the white of the paper to shine through, creating a sense of light and atmosphere. Notice how the artist uses subtle variations in tone and color to suggest the play of sunlight on the walls, floor, and figure. There’s a passage near the bottom, just below the sitter’s boots, where the color is particularly thin and you can see the paper shining through. It is as if the artist is saying, "Look here, this is where the painting comes from!" Henriques’s work brings to mind artists like Berthe Morisot, with whom she shares a similar interest in the depiction of intimate domestic scenes and a commitment to capturing the fleeting effects of light and color. Art is a conversation, and Henriques is speaking here of the quiet, interior moments of life. It is open to interpretation, like a half-finished thought.