Carpet Bag 1935 - 1942

Marie Mitchell's "Carpet Bag" is made with paint, and it looks like it might have been watercolour, gouache, or tempera. When I look at it, I think, wow, this artist is like a textile designer who’s been set loose with a brush! She’s rendered the ornate floral patterns of a carpet bag with so much care. The reds, creams, and muted greens are delicately layered, creating depth and texture, and even a sense of the carpet’s pile. You can see her trying to figure out how to recreate the texture with a brush, and the result is captivating. I wonder, was Marie thinking about fashion? Or perhaps she just loved the challenge of capturing such detail? I find myself thinking about her process, the way she moved her hand, the focus in her eye, and how artists are always in conversation, drawing from each other's obsessions and experiments. Isn’t that the joy of painting, this embodied act that leaves us always questioning, always searching?