wind in your ears

thanks wikimedia commons {PD}

Only a quickly-made drawing of a dog (same dog two times, by the look of it). Of course it was quick. Look at him! He wants to go! What's this leash on for if we're to sit around sketching and being sketched?

This is by the German artist Christian Rohlfs (1849-1938), who established a solid career as an Impressionist before befriending members of Die Brucke ("The Bridge"), one of the central Expressionist groups. Expressionism sought to share an individual perception or feeling, often with vivid colors or strong gestures and lines, the better to make immediate impact.

Rohlfs was already sixty when he shifted styles, and we don't know when exactly when this sketch was done. Nor does it matter. I can see the whole of the artist here: the ability to capture the immediacy of a dog with his ear fur blowin' in the wind, and the empathy and will to make me feel that fuzzy fellow's eagerness. I want to go for a walk now too.