Sporting Style (Rosamund) 1916

Albert Belleroche made this print, Sporting Style (Rosamund), using various dark grey and off-white tones. I imagine him building up the image slowly, with one mark responding to the last. There’s something so sympathetic about seeing the labor of the artist's hand. I see a person, Belleroche, making very deliberate marks on the plate, probably thinking about the economy of line, how much to say with so little. How do you capture someone’s essence with a few strokes? Look at the confident lines of the tie, and the hat – you can feel the fabric. These marks are not accidental! The textures and tonality create the feeling of a real person, with confidence and elegance. Painters are always talking to each other across time. Belleroche probably looked at Whistler, and Manet, and Degas. And now, we're looking at Belleroche, inspired by their ongoing conversation. The act of painting is a journey, not a destination, embracing ambiguity and allowing for multiple interpretations.