Black Boy Inn, Nettlebed 1930

James McBey made this watercolour painting of the Black Boy Inn at Nettlebed, and look at how the colours and marks give it life! I imagine McBey outdoors, letting the scene seep into him, before finding its way out through his hand onto paper. The paint is thin and fluid, with lots of washes layering up to create depth and shadow. There’s something so honest in the way he's captured the road winding towards the inn. Notice the casual brushstrokes that make up the trees and foliage. He is in dialogue with the landscape, responding to its forms and textures, trying to capture a feeling of being there. It makes me wonder if he stopped for a pint afterwards. I bet other painters, like John Constable, who was also interested in capturing the English landscape, would have enjoyed a drink with McBey, swapping stories of trying to nail the perfect sky. It’s like they’re all part of this big, ongoing conversation, inspiring each other. Painting is never finished.