Peak Halyard Band 1938

Paul Lauterbach made this drawing of a Peak Halyard Band in 1938, using what looks like graphite and watercolor. I love the color palette; it’s so earthy, with all those browns, tans, and grays, like the colors of the beach. It’s interesting how Lauterbach handles the material aspects of the piece. The surface has this incredible texture, almost like scales, but it's also really smooth and gentle. You can almost feel the rust of the band! Look at the way the light catches on the right side of the band. It’s really built up to suggest a rough surface. It reminds me of some of the work of Marsden Hartley, he also had a great way of combining abstraction and representation. In the end, I think there is an ambiguity in this piece, and that’s one of its strengths. It doesn't tell us exactly what to think or feel. It just is.