Lithograph Water Made Of Lines And Crayon (Pool II-B)
Signed Print

In this work Hockney swaps the inky qualities of Lithograph Of Water Made Of Thick And Thin Lines and Lithograph Of Water Made Of Lines in favour of a crayon like effect. The feeling of a technical drawing remains as the lines of the water, in their free curves, are contrasted with the strict grid of tiles which recall graph paper. In this work Hockney has stopped short of colouring in the shadows and the greenery as in the other prints and instead lets the diving board become less solid, almost ephemeral, and more in keeping with the ineffability of the water. The squiggly lines which create the impression of the water – and which Hockney would end up painting onto the bottom of his own pool in waterproof paint – seem almost blurry at first glance, their crayon outline doubled by fine lines. In this way the movement of the water, perhaps created by a breeze or recent activity, makes the water come alive, the lines becoming reminiscent of hundreds of bacteria or snakes. And yet despite all this movement the scene is calm, serene, its blue tones soothing the viewer along with the solidity and stillness of the diving board which acts as a kind of anchor in the composition.