Drinking Glass 1935 - 1942

Hugh Clarke made this drawing of a drinking glass with graphite on paper. Look at the way he’s captured the light. It feels like it's shimmering on the surface, just like water would. I can almost feel him moving the pencil back and forth, carefully building up the tones to make the glass look solid and real. He’s probably thinking about how light and shadow work together to create form, which I think about a lot in my own paintings. You have to be very still, very patient. There’s something really satisfying about the way the glass sits on its base, grounded and stable. I wonder if he made it in one go? Or did he stop and start? The more I look, the more I want to know what it would be like to hold it in my own hand. So much thought, and feeling, goes into the making of a drawing, just like any other artwork. It's an ongoing conversation through time.