Haycocks, Wainui 1943

Rita Angus made this watercolor painting, Haycocks, Wainui, in New Zealand. It's a scene that feels both realistic and a little dreamlike, don't you think? Angus uses a delicate, almost pointillist approach, with tiny dots and dashes of color building up the forms. Look closely at the hills in the background, how she captures the light and shadow with just a few well-placed marks. It's like she's letting the process of painting itself become part of the landscape. I'm drawn to the way Angus uses color to create depth and atmosphere. The cool blues of the water contrast with the warm browns and yellows of the hills, pulling you into the scene. Notice, too, how the paint is applied in thin, translucent layers, allowing the white of the paper to shine through. This gives the painting a luminous quality, as if the light is coming from within. This reminds me a little of Cezanne, and his approach to flattening out the landscape with repetitive marks. Both artists seem interested in how the act of seeing informs the act of painting, and vice versa.