Skid Shoe for Horse c. 1938

Samuel Faigin made this watercolour of a ‘Skid Shoe for Horse’, and looking at it, I imagine Faigin feeling a real connection with the subject, seeing the beauty in the everyday. The gentle washes of brown evoke the texture and weight of the iron. There's a softness in the rendering, the way the colour is applied in thin layers, like a veil. It feels quiet and contemplative, the artist carefully observing the object's form and surface. The Skid Shoe sits alone, as a figure in space. This piece makes me think about what it means to memorialize an object, and to honour the labour and beauty of the everyday, the forgotten. It is a reminder that art can be found in the most unexpected places. Like a painter, Faigin is having a conversation with form, colour, and texture.