Crock c. 1940

John Tarantino’s painting of a crock pot, with its beige background and carefully applied blue decoration, it's like a love letter to folk art, isn't it? I can imagine him studying every detail. The way the blue dots pattern the bird’s body, like tiny, careful brushstrokes building form and texture, all in watercolour. It's as if he's trying to capture not just the object, but the whole tradition it comes from. Those curved lines and simple shapes reminds you of Matisse’s cut outs or Miró's playful figures. Painting is always a dialogue – artists looking, responding, borrowing. It's like a big, ongoing conversation, with each artist adding their own voice. Tarantino’s painting of this crock is him joining in that conversation, showing us how something ordinary can be beautiful and how the act of seeing and painting can transform the world around us.