The Duvauchelle Pub and Hills 1933

Rita Angus made "The Duvauchelle Pub and Hills" with watercolor, and it's like she's handing us a way of seeing rather than just a picture. The washes of colour create a dreamy, almost ethereal landscape. It’s all about how she gently coaxes the paint to do its thing, like a dance between control and letting go. Look at how the colours bleed into each other, soft blues melting into peachy pinks, the strokes so delicate you can almost feel the water on the paper. There's a real lightness here, especially in the way she renders the hills. That meandering road is a particularly nice mark. See how it hugs the contours of the land? It's not just a road; it's a gesture, a way of navigating the world, or maybe a kind of invitation to step into the scene. Angus's work has echoes of Cezanne, but with a distinctly Kiwi sensibility. Both were concerned with flattening the picture plane, but where Cezanne was interested in still life, Angus looked to the landscape. Her work reminds us that painting isn't about capturing something perfectly. It's more about opening up possibilities.