Preserve Jar 1935 - 1942

Clyde Cheney made this watercolour and graphite drawing of a preserve jar sometime in the 20th century. It is a muted drawing, the ochre hues and subtle shading giving a sense of earthy solidity to the utilitarian object. I’m trying to imagine what it was like for Cheney to create this drawing. Was he thinking about the jar itself, its use, its history? Or was he more interested in the challenge of capturing its form and texture on paper? The way he's rendered the subtle variations in tone on the jar's surface suggests a real attentiveness to the object. The drawing is simple, straightforward, yet there's something compelling about it. It reminds me that artists are always in conversation with one another, building on the ideas and techniques of those who came before. And that painting, in all its forms, is a way of making sense of the world, of giving shape to our thoughts and feelings, even when those thoughts and feelings are ambiguous or uncertain.