Washing Day 1971

Clementine Hunter made this painting, 'Washing Day', in 1971 using house paint on canvas board. Look at the way the paint’s been applied: flat, almost without texture, and the colours are so direct. It feels like the painting came together quickly, intuitively, like the process was as important as the finished thing. The whole scene is built up from these simple, confident strokes. The ground is just a field of green, the sky, a strip of blue, and the clothes, well, they’re just rectangles hanging on a line. But it’s the black pot in the centre that really grabs me; it’s like a dark, solid presence anchoring the whole scene. You can almost feel the heat radiating from it. I'm reminded of Horace Pippin, in the directness of the image making, although there's a certain tenderness, and even humour, in Hunter’s work that is all her own. 'Washing Day' isn't trying to be anything other than what it is: a glimpse into a world, a memory, a moment captured with honesty and joy.