Cigar Store Indian c. 1937

Walter Hochstrasser painted this “Cigar Store Indian” sometime in the 20th century, using watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil. I love how the artist coaxes out all these woody, earthy tones. Brown on brown on brown... it's a real celebration of color that is supposedly not a color. You can see the artist using the pencil, going back and forth, maybe trying to get the form just right, or maybe just enjoying the repetitive action. The brushstrokes are soft and washy, really different from my own style. It's interesting how they play with light and shadow to give the figure form, yet the whole thing feels strangely flat. Like a dream of sculpture. The way the green sash pops against all those browns, it’s kinda wonderful. It reminds me of some of Fairfield Porter's more intimate interiors. Art is just such a grand conversation, isn’t it? Always echoing, always building on what came before.