Plantestudie 1906 - 1910

This is a plant study by Niels Larsen Stevns, we're not sure when exactly, but it's a beautiful example of working with ink and watercolour. The controlled, almost architectural linework is offset by the soft, dissolving washes of colour, a process of layering and adjusting that gives the piece its particular energy. The texture of the paper plays a big role here; you can almost feel the slight resistance of the surface against the nib of the pen, and the way the watercolour bleeds and blooms. Look at the top left corner of the image, the way the petals are formed from a few simple strokes, each one considered and deliberate, yet somehow spontaneous. It reminds me a little of the botanical studies of someone like Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the way he combines observation with a kind of stylized, almost symbolic representation. I think what I appreciate most is the sense of the artist's hand, the evidence of the creative process, open and unresolved.