The Prut river at dawn in early spring, when ground mist obscures the far bank entirely and the visible world consists of only the near water and the first few metres of reed bed. The watercolour was made from a small wooden pier, working before the sun had fully cleared the horizon.
Wet-into-wet was the only honest technique for the mist. The point where the reeds disappear into the fog was the most difficult passage — pushed back by adding water to the still-wet wash, a decision that had to be made at exactly the right moment.
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.
