Alex Katz has painted scenes of the countryside in the American state of Maine throughout his career because its particular quality of light appeals to him. In this large painting he depicts the banks of a stream with the horizon out of view and the composition focusing instead on the reflections in the water. At the right side, a cluster of slender tree trunks establishes the viewer’s perspective into the image; in the water to their left, we see the reflections of trees on the opposite bank not included within the frame. The painting has a rhythmic quality created by the pattern of triangles repeated across the picture plane. Its smooth and stylised finish is typical of Katz’s large paintings.