Place du Peyra 1928

Earl Stetson Crawford made this etching of Place du Peyra with fine lines, all going this way and that, to create light and dark. I can imagine the artist carefully building up the image, line by line, and watching the scene emerge through trial, error, and intuition. You can see these horizontal lines pulling your eye across the artwork. I feel Crawford’s patience, but also maybe a little hesitation? What was it like to stand there in that square? You can almost feel the coolness of the stone under your feet and the stark nakedness of the winter tree. There is a figure walking through the square. It’s so easy to imagine this figure walking on and out of the scene and the artist drawing from life. Maybe that's the fun in creating an image from real life. How do you capture life? I guess you just start drawing the lines that you see, like Crawford. It reminds me of Piranesi, who made these etchings of Rome, but Crawford's lines feel different. Maybe all artists are in an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. You just have to start.