Description
I Am Drinking the Sun and the Lilies are Spread Across the Water — Acrylic on Stretched Canvas, 1380 × 900 mm
Acrylic on Stretched Canvas
138 × 90 cm
R36 000
Currently exhibiting at The Grande Provence Gallery
I Am Drinking the Sun and the Lilies are Spread Across the Water is an immersive, close-up view down into a lily pond, painted with real warmth and light. Julie Tugwell fills the canvas with drifting lily pads and soft blooms in cream and gold, set against deep pockets of shadowed green and passages of clear, luminous blue where the sky reflects on the water’s surface. Fine dark reeds and grasses are drawn across the composition in loose, calligraphic strokes.
Warm terracotta and amber tones drift in from the upper edges, suggesting autumn light caught in the reflection, while the cooler blues and greens below give the painting depth and a sense of quiet movement. The overall effect is dappled and atmospheric, capturing the particular hush of standing at the edge of still water.
A generous, contemplative piece, it suits a lounge, bedroom or reading corner where its slow, layered detail can be enjoyed at length, bringing a sense of calm, sunlit water into the room.
Style
Julie Tugwell is a contemporary South African artist whose work shares qualities with expressive, painterly traditions, favouring energetic brushwork and an emotional response to her subject over strict realism. In her lily pond and water studies she echoes an Impressionist attention to light and reflection, capturing the atmosphere and mood of a place rather than a literal likeness, creating original paintings that bring warmth, calm and considered sophistication to contemporary interiors.
Please note: Images are provided as a guide to the artwork’s size and style. As each original painting is photographed under different lighting conditions and viewed on different screens, colours may vary slightly from the original artwork.
