Beechmont 1905

Maurice Prendergast made this watercolour, Beechmont, with soft washes and playful dabs of colour. It’s got this dream-like quality; everything is a little blurry, a little out of focus. The pigment sits on the surface of the paper, creating a gentle kind of texture. It's like he built up the image bit by bit, letting the water do its thing, allowing chance to play a part. It’s the sort of mark making that shows the hand of the artist, but also suggests the independence of the medium. Take a look at the rocks in the foreground. They're not just grey blobs; each one has a little touch of blue or brown, a little highlight that gives them weight and volume. It reminds me of Bonnard, who also had this incredible ability to capture the fleeting moments of everyday life. Like Bonnard, Prendergast shows us that painting is about seeing, feeling, and responding to the world around us. It's about embracing the ambiguity and finding beauty in the unexpected.