Sedalia, North Carolina 1929

Beauford Delaney made this watercolor painting of Sedalia, North Carolina in 1929. What I love about it is how he takes the world apart and puts it back together again with dabs of colour. The palette is really interesting - greens and blues alongside pinks and browns. The translucent washes layer on top of one another creating depth and atmosphere. The shapes are like faceted gems, catching the light and casting shadows. The brushwork is so immediate and intuitive, you can almost see him moving around the paper. Check out the shadow in the foreground of the painting – the way he’s built it up from different hues of green and blue. It’s not just a flat shape, but a living, breathing thing. It reminds me of the work of someone like Charles Burchfield who uses watercolour to describe feelings. Delaney is doing something similar here, capturing the mood of a place and a time, and he’s inviting us to slow down and see the world in a new light.