Bomen c. 1976 - 1977

Kees Stoop made this print, "Bomen" – which means 'trees' in Dutch – using etching. Look closely, and you'll see how he builds up the image with all these tiny, intricate lines, a bit like a pointillist painting but with the touch of an engraver. The textures in the trees, especially the bark on the tree to the right, it’s like he’s mapping out every nook and cranny, every little detail of the tree’s surface. It makes you want to reach out and touch it, feel the roughness. And then there’s the way he uses the white space of the paper. It’s not just empty; it's alive! It creates this sense of light and air moving through the trees. Stoop really makes you feel like you're standing there, in the quiet of the woods. I am reminded a little of the American artist Charles Burchfield, he too has that feel for the magic in the everyday landscape.