Dress c. 1936

This is Jean Peszel's 'Dress', made with watercolour, graphite, and touches of white gouache on paper. The colour palette is pastel, soft, and dreamy, like a faded memory or a whispered secret. The artist's hand feels present but restrained. The textures are built up with delicate layers of pigment, particularly in the blue of the gown, where you see the way the washes pool and bleed into one another. The frills at the elbow have a sense of movement and fluidity. There's a gentleness, an attention to detail, but also an acceptance of the unpredictable nature of the medium. Look at the floral patterns on the blue fabric. They're not perfect or precise, but they have a life of their own, like they're growing organically out of the surface. It reminds me a little of the work of Erté, but with a more intimate, personal touch. It's like Peszel isn't just depicting a dress, but capturing a feeling, an atmosphere, a fleeting moment in time.