Winslow Homer, the prominent 19th century artist, is famous for his heavy handed use of water colors in his paintings. He effortlessly elevated the delicate art of watercolor on canvas to new heights with his dramatic use of shadowing and contrast, and in doing so changed the art form entirely. Primarily drawing landscapes, Winslow Homer is able to capture the enormity of a dramatic ocean tempest, while simultaneously reproducing the subtle nuances of a peaceful pasture on a warm spring morning, with nothing more than his brush and a canvas. It is Homer's ability to convey multiple, often contrasting emotions, that has captivated audiences for more than a hundred years. Winslow Homer's mastery of not just color, but content, is best expressed in his 1899 painting, The Gulf Stream. This painting depicts a sailor on a wrecked boat, sitting almost casually against the prow of his vessel. It is clear in this painting that the sailor is entirely unable to maneuver his boat, and would therefore lead most to believe that the sailor is distraught, given his inevitable demise. However, Winslow Homer intends something quite different. In The Gulf Stream, Homer uses lighting, shadowing, and imagery to create a painting that expresses resignation, hope, and despair, all at the same time.

Winslow Homer's painting uses light to highlight the sailor, and in doing so, starkly contrasts his subject with the surrounding environment, creating a tone of serene resignation, one of the many themes portrayed in the painting. Although amidst a rough sea, clearly in the aftermath of a storm, and surrounded by what can only be presumed to be man eating sharks, the sailor in The Gulf Stream is illuminated more than anything else in the painting and appears to be almost content. The warm light that Homer uses to depict the sailor and the boat creates a sense of calm about the sailor, especially when juxtaposed against the otherwise dark surroundings. The highlighted sailor is painted in a reclining position, looking passively out across the ocean, seemingly oblivious to the trouble he now finds himself in. The stern and mast of his vessel have been snapped off, presumably by the storm seen moving away from him in the distance, and his rudder has been destroyed as well. With no means of navigating, and no hope of returning to shore under his own power, why then, does this sailor seem so at peace? By bathing the sailor in warm light, and positioning him in a manner similar to that of a sunbather on a beach, Winslow Homer creates a tone of serendipity, to show that the sailor has accepted his fate, and finds no use in fretting over it. Because this man is so despairingly doomed, with almost no hope of salvation save for a fortuitous current, he sees no reason worry, a point Homer expertly makes with his use of lighting.

In addition to lighting, Winslow Homer uses shadowing to enforce a sense of dread more so in the audience than in the sailor himself, and further enforces the tragedy of the sailor's predicament. Out of context, the sailor could be seen as relaxing on his admittedly shabby boat like any other day, which is exactly what makes the painting so tragic in context. Winslow Homer uses shadows to partly conceal the sharks circling the mans boat, and the storm responsible for the damage as well, and in doing so, reinforces a sense of dread in the viewer. Because the sailor seems so calm, portrayed in a warm light, the terror in the shadows is all the more frightening. The massive black waves leftover from the storm assault the broken vessel's hull. The sharks, dark gray with white, emotionless eyes, lurk in the shadows in the forefront of the painting, hiding in plain sight. Winslow Homer's clever use of shadowing creates an abrupt contrast between the calm of the sailor, and the awful situation he finds himself in.

Instilling serenity and fear in his audience with his use of light and darkness, Winslow Homer also uses powerful imagery to foster yet another emotion in his viewers; pity. The most visually grabbing aspect of Homer's painting is the sailor on his boat, thanks to the effective use of light. Next, one notices the tempest in the background, the sharks in the foreground, and the condition that the ship itself is in. However, rarely seen, and actually added by Winslow Homer after the initial completion of this painting, is the faint outline of a ship in the background, barely standing out against the yellow stormy sky. Almost blending into the clouds, as if it could be whisked away in an instant, one can make out the three masts of a ship. While a sense of tragedy is already instilled in the audience as a result of the sailor's resignation, it is perhaps this tiny detail, one which was not even included in the original painting, that is most powerful. For while the sailor has given up all hope, and has peacefully accepted that his death is soon to arrive, in the distance, is the key to his survival. Yet alas, he has already come to peace with his inevitable death, and is looking in the opposite direction. One must consider, however, if his inability to see the ship is actually a blessing. For if he were able to see his way home, only to be completely unable to reach it, would that not be an infinitely worse fate? Winslow Homer engenders a multitude of emotions in his audience, for it is almost impossible to tell which fate is worse. By ingeniously inserting one tiny detail, Homer makes The Gulf Stream infinitely more complex. 

Using only watercolors, Winslow Homer is able to create a sense of hope, despair, resignation, dread, and pity, all in one painting. By utilizing color and shadowing, and juxtaposing the two in an eye-grabbing manner, Homer captivates his audience. However, it is the content and complexity of his painting that keeps his viewers looking and questioning. The brightness of the sailor, his recumbent position, the environment he finds himself in, and lastly, the ship in the background, complicate the painting such that it is almost impossible to derive one single meaning from it. Does Homer want the sailor to see the ship, or should he be content in blissful ignorance? Some of the painting's ambiguity can be attributed to Homer's audience which was composed primarily of American aristocrats, to whom a painting depicting simply a condemned sailor would be unpleasant. Thus, Homer created a wildly complex painting, which can represent nearly anything. While there are many questions to be asked about this painting, the majority of which have no answers, one thing is for sure: Winslow Homer is an expert at his craft.

