Bullet Mold c. 1940

William Frank made this drawing of a Bullet Mold, we don’t know exactly when, using graphite and colored pencil. What strikes me is the precision of the depiction, yet there’s a looseness too, the marks are soft. Frank lets the gray of the metal seep into the surrounding space, it’s like he’s feeling his way around the object, trying to understand it from the inside out. And, look, it's not just the object itself, but the light playing on its surface that he's interested in. See the way he renders the pitted, weathered texture of the metal, you can almost feel the object's age. It reminds me of those early American folk artists, who painted everyday objects with such care and attention. Like them, Frank invites us to slow down and really look, to find beauty in the mundane, and to appreciate the skill and craft that goes into making even the simplest things. It's a quiet, humble kind of art, but it speaks volumes if you're willing to listen.