Jug c. 1937

Nicholas Amantea made this drawing of a jug at some point in his career, we don't know exactly when, but it's made with the softest watercolors. It’s all about layering those browns to give the jug its heft. Look at how Amantea used gentle strokes to model the jug’s roundness. The washes of color feel almost like a caress, don’t they? The way the pigments settle into the paper, creating a soft, almost velvety texture, invites you to touch the surface, to feel the weight of the jug in your own hands. I love the little bird, painted in that graphic blue. It puts me in mind of the drawings of everyday objects that Giorgio Morandi used to make. Both artists find something monumental in the mundane. It’s a reminder that art can be about slowing down, observing, and finding beauty in the simplest things.