Aquarell mit Strich 1912

Wassily Kandinsky made this watercolour with ink and pencil, using fluid brushstrokes and a really playful palette of blues, reds, yellows and browns. In terms of the materiality, look at how the water thins the colour, allowing it to flow freely across the surface. This creates a sense of spontaneity, as if Kandinsky is surrendering control to the medium itself. The black line across the surface almost feels like a piece of string laid across the page, holding the composition together. It's interesting to think about how Kandinsky embraces abstraction, moving away from recognizable forms to explore the emotional and spiritual qualities of colour and line. Does this remind you of Paul Klee’s explorations of colour and form? He also had such a unique approach to abstraction. For me, both artists show the joy of art as an ongoing experiment, full of happy accidents and unforeseen discoveries.