John William Waterhouse

A joyous opportunity to indulge in some pre-raphaelite art. John William Waterhouse was my favourite artist whilst a student, and his highly detailed and romantic images appealed hugely to me as a late teenager! I loved and still love the rich colours, the op ulent drapey clothing, beautiful faces of the women he chose, often looking sad and wrestling with tragedy. The drama and unachievable perfection took prominence on the walls of mine and many of my student friends. I still hold onto the following image and adorns my bathroom!

This picture contains many of my favourite elements. Firstly the dominance of the blue, prussian blue and turquoise greens I think is the element that makes me look longest at this image. I love water and the pouring of it spilling over the flat oval dish I love. I can't define why, I think it's the elegance of the bowl and the abundance of the water spilling from a magical source. I am regularly drawn to pictures if they include woodland, especially if they include trees that step out of a fairy tale. It's one of my all time favourite pictures whilst being aware of the highly romantic and unreal representation of women. I don't care!!!!

My other favourite colour pallete is the amethyst purples. I love the fact that the heather and amethyst hues feature in the dress and wrap of Boreas, the tree canopies and tree bark, the sky and hints of it in the grass. The colour is more important than any other element but the general windswept scene also has an extremely attractive quality. I gave up this image a couple of decades ago but maybe a small print could sneak back into a quiet corner.

I add this final image as the original in the Tate in real life is mesmerising. The execution of the scene and observation of the plants and trees in foreground and background is beautiful. The water looks like you could touch it and come away with wet fingers and knock your hand on the side of the boat. It is so realistically painted and the elements are so beautiful I find them different to other realistically painted images. I realise I have fallen for the romantic ideal but still admire the quality of the painting and composition.