Crock c. 1938

This artwork is a watercolor by George Loughridge, showing a design for a crock. Look at the cobalt blue against the ground of pale wash – it’s like a dance, a little waltz between the solid object and the airy, dreamy space around it. I can imagine George, totally focused, mixing that blue, testing it, layering it on with a brush loaded just so. Was he thinking about the curve of the handle, the way the light would hit the glaze? Maybe he was daydreaming about the potter's wheel, the clay spinning, the endless possibilities. That bold stroke mimicking a frond says everything! It’s not just a decoration, it's a gesture, a feeling made visible. This piece reminds me of other artists I admire - Elizabeth Murray's playful forms and Philip Guston’s directness. Artists are always riffing off each other like one long game of exquisite corpse. It's like we're all in this ongoing conversation. And that's the beauty of painting, it's never really done, it's always changing, always open to new ideas and interpretations.