Sketch for 'Near Toulon' 1929

Rupert Bunny made this sketch for ‘Near Toulon’ with oil paints in a muted, earthy palette. I can imagine him outside, squinting in the sun, trying to capture the light on those distant mountains. I love how he's used these short, choppy strokes to build up the forms, almost like he's knitting the landscape together. You know, painting en plein air can be hard. There’s the wind, the changing light, the bugs… It takes a certain kind of determination to wrestle a landscape onto a canvas like this. And you can feel that energy in the brushwork, right? This piece reminds me of Cezanne, who was also obsessed with capturing the essence of a place through painting. Artists are constantly building on each other's ideas, riffing on the same themes, and finding new ways to see the world. Isn't that what it’s all about? That ongoing conversation, that exchange of ideas?