Willow Herb, Buxstead 1919

Charles Rennie Mackintosh made Willow Herb, Buxstead, in 1919 using watercolour and pencil. It's a kind of dance between observation and invention. Mackintosh lays down these washy colours, purples and greens, then outlines everything in pencil. It's like he's trying to trap the light, contain it within these delicate lines. The paint is so thin; it feels almost like he’s breathing colour onto the page. See the way he renders the petals of the main flower? The purple bleeds into the paper, but he reins it in with that firm, dark outline. It gives the flower a kind of electric charge, like it's glowing from within. I’m reminded of some of the early botanical illustrations, but with a modern twist. Mackintosh isn’t just documenting nature; he’s reimagining it, pushing it towards abstraction. It’s like he’s saying, “Here’s what I see, but here’s also what I feel.” And that’s what makes it so compelling, it is about seeing and feeling.