Ontwerp voor een postzegel met een gekroonde W 1939

Carel Adolph Lion Cachet made this stamp design with watercolor, height 456 mm, width 270 mm. It's a real mix of heraldry and playfulness. Look at the way the colors puddle and bleed; it's like he's letting the watercolor do its thing, embracing the happy accidents. Up close, you can see the brushstrokes in the way the crown shimmers, gold against the solid black. The crown itself looks like it has been built up in layers to make the surface almost jewel-like. Then there are the flags, rendered in bold, simple bands of color, with none of the precision you might expect. It makes you think about the process of artmaking: when to let go, and when to tighten up. And the stamp has the feeling of folk art. Reminds me of the work of someone like Henri Rousseau, who also had this knack for mixing formality with a kind of untamed, naive vision. It's art that doesn't take itself too seriously, and maybe that's why it's so charming.