Costume Doll c. 1938

Al Curry made this drawing of a ‘Costume Doll’ using what looks like watercolor. I feel for Al here, it's difficult to achieve volume with such delicate tones. I can imagine Al thinking about the dress and how it is constructed; the headscarf is a helpful injection of bright color to offset the pallid effect of the dress. It seems like a simple drawing, and it is, but look closely at the lace trimming, and you can see a slight misalignment between the top of the dress and the skirt! The artist seems to want to get the dress down on paper. The doll feels almost like an afterthought. The drawing feels more like a technical fashion drawing. And maybe Al was looking at fashion drawings? Anyway, what do I know? It makes me wonder, as artists, how do we learn from each other's works and then go off and make something new?