In the Park 1903

Maurice Prendergast made this watercolour, In the Park, at some point in his career, but it’s undated. What I love about watercolour is that it’s such a process-driven medium. You can’t really control it; you kind of have to let the water do its thing. And look how Prendergast has used that to his advantage here, creating this shimmering, dappled effect that really captures the feeling of being in a park on a sunny day. The colours are so light and airy, and the way he’s layered them creates this sense of depth and movement. See how the touches of red scattered throughout the painting draw your eye around the composition. There’s a real joy and spontaneity in his mark-making that’s infectious. It reminds me a bit of Bonnard, who also had this incredible ability to capture the fleeting moments of everyday life. Both artists embrace the ambiguity and multiple interpretations over fixed meanings in painting, and that’s something I really admire.