Lobster Girl

By comparison with the girl herself Hutchison paints the sea here in very little detail, but he certainly manages to convey the atmosphere of a breezy day on the coast. Hutchison was influenced by the Scottish painter William McTaggart, best known for his sun-dappled sea and landscapes. McTaggart painted outside and developed a loose and broad way of handling paint which allowed him to capture passing atmospere and light in a similar way to the French Impressionists, although there is no certainty that McTaggart was aware of their work.   Adopting a similarly loose handling of paint, Hutchison captures a bright and windy day. The sky is windswept, the sea is a deep, fresh blue and the girl seems to lean against the wind as her skirts billow out infront of her. Her face is in shadow which draws attention instead to her pose and the contents of her basket. She is probably the daughter of a fisherman.