Pewter Flagon c. 1936

Charles Cullen made this drawing of a Pewter Flagon, sometime in his life between 1855 and 1995, using graphite on paper. It's all about tone, isn’t it? Look at the light, and how it describes the form. There's a real clarity in the way Cullen uses graphite, almost like he's caressing the surface to bring out the subtle sheen of the pewter. It's so delicate, yet there's a weight to it too, a sense of the object's presence. I love the way the handle curls, almost like a playful gesture, contrasting with the more rigid lines of the flagon itself. It’s this kind of tension that keeps me interested. You know, seeing this makes me think of Morandi and his bottles, or even some of those early modernist still lifes – a quiet exploration of form and space. Art’s just one long conversation, you know? A way of looking and thinking that keeps evolving, morphing, questioning.