Plate 12: Saint Rita: From Portfolio "Spanish Colonial Designs of New Mexico" 1935 - 1942

This is an image of Saint Rita from the portfolio "Spanish Colonial Designs of New Mexico" by an anonymous artist. The linear quality reminds me that artmaking is a process of thinking and doing. It isn’t about virtuosity, it is about the back and forth between your hand, your eye, and what’s in front of you. The colours are muted and earthy, they have a hand-made quality. I am struck by the skull, which sits on a ledge next to the saint. The artist uses a confident line to describe its form, but it is also slightly wonky – it is slightly flattened and compressed as if made from clay, which only makes it more real. The colour palette is harmonious and the colours are clearly separated with firm outlines. Art is an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time; you can see echoes of folk art, illustration, and sign-making. Art can embrace ambiguity and multiple interpretations over fixed meanings.