Landscape With Figures c. 1918 - 1923

Maurice Prendergast made this painting, Landscape With Figures, with oil, building up the surface with these tiny little dabs of color, like a mosaic. It's all process, you know? The making of it is right there on the canvas. Up close, you can see how each touch of the brush is kind of separate, but together they make up the whole image. Look at the way the light hits the dresses of the figures. He's not blending anything; he's letting the colors sit next to each other, creating a sense of shimmer and movement. It's like he's capturing a fleeting moment, the way light changes in an instant. Prendergast reminds me a bit of Bonnard, with that same joy in color and light, but Prendergast is doing his own thing, figuring it all out with each little mark. It's a reminder that art isn't about getting it "right," but about exploring, and seeing where the process takes you.