Tanglewood 1939

Donald Greason made this watercolor, Tanglewood, in 1939. Look at the way he uses the brush, almost like he’s sketching with ink, laying down these transparent washes. You can see the process, the thinking, the making, all at once! The color is so subtle, almost like a memory, or a faded photograph, and it’s fascinating how he defines the space with these skeletal lines, the structure holding the whole thing together. He even leaves it unfinished in places, like the little windows at the back, so your eye can wander, it can decide where to go. That one dark line, the one that defines the closest chair on the right, that’s my favourite. It holds the whole thing together, makes it so solid, so real. This reminds me of some of Bonnard’s interiors; the way he captured the feeling of a space, not just the appearance, and I think that’s what Greason’s done here too. It’s like a fleeting moment captured in time, an echo of a place.