Plate c. 1936

Albert Eyth, who lived a long life, made this plate with watercolors, but we don’t know when. I’m imagining him leaning over the plate, brush in hand, trying to get the flower just right. It’s not perfect, and that’s what I love about it! The slightly uneven edges of the petals, the way the blue bleeds into the white. I’m interested in how he has tried to bring the outside in. It reminds me of those folk art paintings you see sometimes, where the artist is more interested in capturing the essence of a thing than in getting every detail perfect. Painters are always looking at each other’s work. Each brushstroke tells a story, not just of the thing it represents, but of the artist’s hand, their eye, their heart. And each plate invites another.