Doll's Dresser c. 1937

Dana Bartlett made this "Doll's Dresser" with watercolour, and it's such a cozy little painting. It’s the kind of piece where you can really see the artist thinking through the forms, figuring it out as they go. Look at how Bartlett handles the wood grain, it’s so controlled, tight and precise. But then he lets the colour pool and blend in the shadows. The drawers have these perfectly round knobs, they’re so tactile. But then that fussy decoration above the mirror. It's so quirky! It reminds me of the work of Forrest Bess, who made these intense visionary paintings that were also so rooted in material reality. Both artists seem to be embracing this weird balance between control and accident, intention and intuition. Ultimately, art is about embracing the unexpected, right?