Technique Demo (Wood Grain) 1935 - 1942

This study of wood grain was made with washes of brown ink and delicate graphite lines, and you can just feel the artist working methodically to capture the different tonalities and figuring out how to create these patterns. Looking at it, I imagine someone patiently practicing how to render the material of wood, maybe a student wanting to nail this technique. It’s like a visual exercise, each rectangle a slightly different attempt, working darker and darker, until the lower right is the most intensely rendered. I am curious what kind of surface they intended to create the illusion of. The texture is so smooth, the thin ink almost like watercolor. You can see the hand of the artist in the careful strokes, each one building up the illusion of the grain. It reminds you that artists are always learning from each other and from the world around them, translating it into something new. It captures the artist's exploration and invites us to appreciate the beauty in simple observation.