Bank: Toy Building 1935 - 1942

Telli made this drawing of a Toy Building, probably in the late 20th century, with what looks like watercolor and pencil. It's really charming; the drawing is so straightforward. I love the way the roof is rendered. It's not just a flat plane of red, but a surface that's been touched, a process of color laid over color. The texture is really interesting, it's almost like he’s recreating the kind of distressed surface you would find on a well-loved toy. The white decorative motifs around the top feel almost botanical, don’t they? Look at the front porch, and the way the criss cross pattern is made to suggest depth. It's a little wonky, a little off-kilter. That kind of approach always gets me because it feels so human. It reminds me of Bill Traylor's work, where perspective is intuitive, not academic. The whole thing has a real sense of tenderness and memory to it. It embraces the ambiguity of seeing and feeling over some kind of fixed reality.