Beechmont 1905

Maurice Prendergast made this watercolor painting "Beechmont" and the scene is set on the beach with the sea in the background. The gestural marks create a sense of rhythm and movement, like little notes in a musical score. I imagine Prendergast standing there, feeling the cool breeze, squinting to see all the different colours. You can almost see him dabbing the brush on the paper, trying to capture the light shimmering on the water. Look how thinly he applied the paint. The brushstrokes are so fluid, so alive. I feel like he’s whispering something about the way we see, about the way we feel. I get a similar feeling from Bonnard, who had such a deep understanding of colour, the way certain hues resonate together. It makes you think about what other artists were doing, maybe noticing similar things and pushing painting in different directions. I love to imagine these painters in conversation across time.