Pitcher 1935 - 1942

Willoughby Ions, who lived from 1855 to 1995, made this pitcher with watercolor, and it's drawn exact size. The painting itself feels like a slow, deliberate meditation. It’s all about seeing, and how the hand follows the eye, right? The surface of the pitcher has a kind of blush, a very very pale pink, broken up by the grid and a few stylized flowers. Look at the way the artist’s used brown to describe their pitcher, a slightly darker shade of brown than the design which goes some way to creating the illusion of shadow. The colors are muted, which gives it this antique feel, like a memory. I keep thinking about how each little line, each careful curve, is a decision, a response to the thing in front of them, as they attempt to capture its essence. Making art is all about embracing the unexpected. It reminds me a little of Mary Delany's paper collages, capturing nature through a similarly handcrafted lens.