A gouache study of a single grey crane, painted from life at a fish pond in northern Moldova. The bird's stillness — it stood motionless for nearly an hour — allowed an extended period of observation before the first mark was made, and that time is present in the painting's quality of attention.
The long neck and legs presented the principal compositional challenge: how to place a predominantly vertical, linear subject on a horizontal page so that the composition holds. The bird was placed off-centre, its reflection in the water providing the counter-weight.
About the artist
Maria Florescu's paintings are records of specific places at specific times of day — not idealised landscapes but faithful witnesses to the light as it actually fell on a particular morning, a particular field, a particular bend in the river. She works on location first, completing canvases in the studio with plein air notes close at hand.
She is based in Iași and exhibits across eastern Romania. Her gouache studies are made as standalone works, not preparatory sketches — small, immediate, made while waiting for the light to settle before the large canvas begins. She accepts commissions and is willing to paint locations of personal significance to clients.
