River Gum and Mount Gillen 1951

Albert Namatjira painted 'River Gum and Mount Gillen' in watercolour, a medium that lets you build up a picture slowly, letting light and colour seep into the paper. Look at the way he’s used these translucent washes of paint to capture the Australian landscape. The way the colours blend reminds me of the give-and-take in artmaking, where you start with something and let the materials lead you. See how the soft blues and purples in the mountain echo the colours in the sky? It’s like he’s letting the landscape speak through the colours, each layer responding to the last. The trunk of the tree is built up of greys and browns, suggesting texture without ever being heavy-handed. The thinness of the paint allows the whiteness of the paper to shine through. Namatjira's work reminds me of the landscapes of John Constable, particularly in their shared interest in capturing the mood of a place, letting the landscape speak for itself. He shows us that art is an ongoing conversation, a way of seeing and feeling that keeps changing over time.