Elementary School Bell 1935 - 1942

This is Gerald Transpota's "Elementary School Bell," made with watercolor and graphite on paper. What strikes me is how he reduces the subject to only the essential lines, almost as if the bell is emerging from the paper itself. The watercolor gives the metalwork a soft, almost burnished quality. Notice the way Transpota handles the interplay of light and shadow, giving the bell depth and form, particularly in the areas where the paint is layered. The use of watercolor allows the white of the paper to shine through, creating a sense of luminosity. This reminds me a bit of Charles Demuth's precisionist watercolors, but with a gentler touch. Transpota invites us to look at the everyday with fresh eyes, finding beauty in the mundane, which is what art is all about, right?