Immaculate Conception 1935 - 1942

Majel G. Claflin's watercolor painting, Immaculate Conception, shows an original IAD object that's 21 inches high. I can just imagine Claflin’s hand moving so carefully over the paper, capturing the smooth face and weathered body of the sculpture. What was she thinking when she made this? The sculpture itself looks pretty old. I feel like the cracks in the statue are echoed by the way she’s painted, so delicately. You can see her working out how the statue sits in space, how the light hits it. I love the little details on the sash; those red and blue colors really pop. The statue’s a little beat up, sure, but it's got so much character. I’m curious to see how other painters might have approached the same object. Painters are always in conversation with each other. Each stroke, each choice of color, is a response to something that came before, a suggestion for what might come next. It's like a big, messy, beautiful conversation that never ends.