Vase c. 1937

Madeline Arnold made this watercolour of a vase at some point in her long life between 1855 and 1995. What hits me first is the flat, almost graphic quality, but then you notice how the artist really works the colour, with these subtle variations of tone and saturation. I like to think about how the physical process of applying paint creates a kind of emotional experience. In this piece, the red has a richness that is both earthy and luminous. Look at the way the white floral design is layered on top. There’s a sense of depth, but it's also very controlled. Notice the delicate lines that trace the veins of the leaves, and how they contrast with the bold, rounded form of the vase itself. It's like a conversation between precision and spontaneity. Arnold's approach reminds me a little of some of the American modernists like, say, Georgia O'Keeffe, who also played with form and colour to create these really intimate, almost sensual, images. But Arnold's got her own thing going on, a kind of quiet intensity. And that's what keeps me coming back, that sense of something personal, something felt, beneath the surface.