"Sea Chest", U.S. Navy 1935 - 1942

This "Sea Chest," by Willoughby Ions, is painted with watercolor, gouache, and graphite. Just imagine Ions, brush in hand, carefully layering these washes of brown and gold to mimic the wood grain. Can you see him, almost caressing the surface with his brush, trying to capture the way light plays on the chest? I bet he was fascinated by the challenge of translating something so solid into something ethereal on paper. Think about the relationship between the original sea chest and the painting of it. The chest probably held all sorts of interesting stuff. Personal treasures and practical supplies for seafaring. This painting preserves a memory, or a story, or maybe just the presence of the object itself. It’s like Ions is saying: here is this useful thing that can also be beautiful. And here is a painting to think about it.