Sunday, February 23, 2014

Watercolor flowers by Charles Rennie Mackintosh

When I came across this Charles Mackintosh watercolor on the Metropolitan Museum of Art website it pulled me up short. My heart didn't exactly skip a beat, but I did feel like everything stopped for a minute while this painting took hold. I love how the fluffy peonies and delicately veined leaves contrast with the sleek vase and the orange, patterned background. The silver vase speaks so clearly I hear it like a sweetly ringing bell or the pure tone of a flute. (That sounds high-flown and hyperbolic, but it's true. That silver vase gives me a cross-sensory experience that sounds like a flute in my brain.) 


So I looked for other Mackintosh watercolors. I found these pinks in Wikimedia Commons. I wonder if he designed their box.


I found this iris at TheGlasgowStory. I love how he captures gloss and reflections without belaboring them. He expresses the essence of shininess.


This watercolor of an autumnal looking rose is up for auction at MutualArt.com. Oh, those beautifully articulated rose petals and that luminous pallette! My birthday is coming up, you know.



Next week I plan to share some Mackintosh watercolors painted in a less finished style.  I found so many beauties I couldn't pass up, I decided they needed a separate post.

Sharing and reacting to art I find online has become my Sunday afternoon treat. I hope it's a treat for you too!

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