Study, St. Malo. No 11 1907

Maurice Prendergast’s small oil on canvas, *Study, St. Malo. No 11*, captures a beach scene through joyful daubs of colour. It’s like he's thinking out loud with the paint, each stroke a little discovery. Look at the bottom, the way the sandy beach is rendered with these close hatchings of brown, green, and purple paint. This isn’t about making a perfect picture, it's about the pleasure of pushing the paint around, seeing what happens when the colours meet. Prendergast wasn't trying to hide his process, but flaunt it. The way he uses these short, broken strokes of colour makes the whole scene feel alive. Each mark is like a little breath, a little pulse. Reminds me a bit of Bonnard, that love of the everyday, the domestic scene. But Prendergast brings this raw, almost naive energy to it. It’s art that reminds us that seeing, thinking, and feeling are all part of the same messy, beautiful process.