The Cove 1911

Maurice Prendergast made this watercolour, The Cove, on paper, at an unknown date. What I love about Prendergast is his embrace of the accidental, the blot, the drip, the happy little accident, as Bob Ross would say. You can see how the colours mingle and bleed into each other, creating a sense of atmosphere and movement. The materiality of the paint itself is also interesting. It's thin and transparent in some areas, allowing the white of the paper to shine through, and then in other areas, it's thicker and more opaque, creating a sense of depth and texture. If you look closely at the figures in the foreground, you can see how Prendergast uses quick, gestural marks to suggest their forms and movements. It's almost like he's capturing a fleeting moment in time, a snapshot of life in motion. This piece reminds me of Bonnard, another artist who was interested in capturing the ephemeral qualities of light and colour. Ultimately, I think Prendergast's work is about embracing the messiness and ambiguity of life, and finding beauty in the unexpected.