Untitled
10  1/4″ x 5  3/4″
260 mm x 145 mm
Watercolor on Arches 300gsm Hot Pressed paper
© Susan-Harrison-Tustain

New Watercolor Painting release

The aged door of a dry stone cottage built in 1904. Set high on a hill overlooking Fruitlands Central Otago, New Zealand – Mitchells Cottage stands as a poignant reminder of New Zealands early settlers.  Within these walls we feel their struggles and their challenges – but this home is also a testament to the resilience and incredible natural beauty of this area of New Zealand.

This is not just a watercolor painting of the time-worn door lock and latch –  and a tongue and groove wood door. This piece has a timeless character that epitomizes an era that was austere and very real. I wanted to capture the wholesome rawness of this place, but also a feeling of ‘home fires burning’. My attention was drawn to this handle and the people who have used it, worn the patina on the old brass and lived their wholesome, hard lives with focus and enduring fortitude.

I was compelled to capture the emotion I felt when I stepped into this cottage. When I look at this watercolor painting I can feel there has been a presence of these stoical people and that, to me, is what my painting is all about. That is why I paint. My paintings are a tribute to the people or places that reach out and make their mark on my emotion and enduring thoughts and memories.