Chesapeake Bay II c. 2001

Ross Merrill created this pastel drawing, Chesapeake Bay II, on what looks like a page torn from a sketchpad. The immediacy of pastel lends itself to capturing a fleeting moment, a quick impression. Look at the cloud formation dominating the center, it’s outlined in sunny yellow, that gives it an almost cartoonish energy. The cloud hangs heavy, pregnant with rain, above a calm, blue bay. There’s a kind of shorthand at play here. Little sticks in the water, maybe old moorings or broken jetties, are quickly rendered with just a few strokes of the pastel. It reminds me of Guston’s late work. I like how Merrill leaves the marks raw and visible. It’s not about hiding the process; it's about the process itself being the point. The texture of the pastel on the page gives it a kind of vulnerable, provisional feel.