Doll's Jacket c. 1936

This little watercolor of a doll's jacket was created by Chris Makrenos; we don't know when, but he lived for a long time, from 1855 to 1995, so he saw a lot of change in the world. I am thinking about how Makrenos applied those thin washes of gray and white to create the stripes. The paint isn’t overworked, it's really allowed to breathe. It makes me think about patience and control, but also about letting go. The texture of the paper underneath the watercolor gives it an added dimension. Look at how the edges of the jacket seem to blur and fade, a lovely counterpoint to the precise lines of the decorative trim. You can imagine him carefully rendering each stripe, and then adding the tiny details of the trim. He's probably thinking about the doll who will wear the jacket, perhaps even a memory of childhood. It connects him to a much longer history of painting, of looking, and of trying to capture something fleeting and precious.