Brass Lamp c. 1939

William O. Fletcher made this watercolor painting of a Brass Lamp. Look how he layers the colour in translucent washes, building up the effect of light on the metal surface. The way Fletcher handles the medium here is interesting, it is very controlled, very precise, each detail carefully placed, but with these areas of bleed and subtle tonal shifts. I love the way he paints the little handle on the side of the lamp, with its suggestion of reflected light. It’s almost like he is letting the water do its own thing, letting the painting find itself, which is something I can really relate to. It reminds me a bit of some of the still life paintings by Giorgio Morandi, with their subtle, muted colour palettes and their focus on simple, everyday objects. There is a similar feel of quiet contemplation and a sense of the beauty of the ordinary. Ultimately, the magic of art is that it embraces ambiguity and multiple interpretations, rather than just one meaning.