Bowl 1935 - 1942

This painting, "Bowl" by John Dana, rendered in straightforward blue paint, is all about process. It feels like Dana is figuring out the form of the bowl as he goes. There's something lovely about the way the blue paint sits on the paper, not too thick, not too thin, just right, as if the paper is drinking in the colour, and the form emerging from the page. Look at the way the artist captures light passing through the undulating forms of the glass, it's almost liquid. The colour choice is interesting too, that strong blue creates a kind of melancholic, dreamlike effect. Dana's approach reminds me a little of Giorgio Morandi, another artist who painted humble objects with an obsessive eye. Both artists share a love for the quiet, meditative process of painting, revealing the hidden beauty in the everyday. Ultimately, it's a painting that celebrates the act of looking and making, reminding us that art is as much about the journey as it is about the destination.