The Tree, Bare Island, Maine

For Marin, Maine pines became an iconic symbol of survival in a harsh world. Painting this scene on an island southeast of Stonington, he intentionally roughened the paper, wetting and blotting to blend greens and soften the wide brushstrokes. He drew thick charcoal lines to emphasize the contours of the tree, leaving the interior less defined. Alternating charcoal with watercolor and muddying the two media in an unorthodox manner, he pulled charcoal washes into colors for tone and dragged wet charcoal across wet paper to create rough black marks. Finally, he painted the internal border along the top of the sheet in watercolor and then rearticulated it in charcoal, playing with the tension between illusionism and flatness. The resulting image speaks of strength and the artist’s sense of equilibrium.