Mount Giles 1938

Albert Namatjira made this watercolor painting of Mount Giles, probably in the 1940s or 50s. Just look at the way the pale blue light hits the peaks! It's so delicate, so measured. You can really see that Namatjira was playing with the transparency of watercolor, letting the light bounce off the paper and back at us. I love how he’s built up the surface with these soft, almost tentative strokes. It’s not about heavy impasto, but this incredible layering, one tone over another, creating such a subtle depth. See how each ridge and fold of the mountains is described with a slightly darker tone? It reminds me of Cezanne, how he’d build up form with these little touches of color. It's like a conversation between light and shadow. Thinking about watercolor and its history as a medium, especially within landscape painting, I can’t help but think of someone like John Singer Sargent. Not that they look alike, exactly, but they both knew how to make the most of this watery medium. Both sought to capture a feeling, a place, through the push and pull of color and light.