Cast Iron Mail Box c. 1942

This rendering of a cast iron mailbox was made by Roger Deats at an unknown date. It's so funny to see a drawing of something so utilitarian, but Deats really commits to the ornamentation, and you can see how the arabesques and flourishes almost take on a life of their own! I love the way the whole piece is rendered in a tight, controlled way, almost like a technical drawing, but the subject matter has all this organic, almost plant-like ornamentation. You can see the individual strokes of color, really tight hatching of the pencil. I wonder if maybe Deats was looking at the work of someone like Albrecht Durer, who was also a master of detail. It is through this accumulation of fine details that Deats manages to give the piece its sense of solidity and weight. Isn’t it amazing how just the right marks can bring something to life? Art is cool!