One of my favorite painters when I first began to paint was James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Most famous for his painting of his mother in profile, Whistler was well-known in his time for his lawsuit with art critic John Ruskin. Ruskin criticized Whistler's painting technique as "flinging a pot of paint" at the canvas, prompting Whistler to sue for libel. Whistler won the case, but was awarded only a farthing, bankrupting himself for his principles. As issue was one of his night landscapes, a favorite series of mine that is almost completely abstract; although the landscape subjects are recognizable, they are visible through a dark fog, only the faraway lights on the shore giving contrast.
This view of the Cumberland River during a walk a few nights ago reminded me so much of this series that I could not resist trying my hand at it. I would have to paint many more to come close to the brilliant simplicity of Whistler, but that simplicity is always at the heart of my efforts.
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