Brace - For Drilling c. 1940

David S. De Vault made this watercolor of a brace, for drilling, at an unknown date. Looking at this painting, you can almost smell the wood, right? De Vault really gets into the nitty-gritty of texture here; it’s like he’s feeling the grain and knotholes with his brush. The color palette is so restrained, earthy browns and grays, that it gives the piece a real sense of weight and presence. He lets the form of the brace really dominate. See how he uses these subtle shifts in tone to suggest the play of light across the object, giving it volume and depth. The mark-making is where it gets interesting. The way he renders the curves and edges feels so deliberate, like he's turning the brace over and over in his hand as he paints, trying to understand how it works. It reminds me a little of Giorgio Morandi. They both seem really interested in the poetry of the everyday object. Anyway, it's pretty great stuff.