Vase c. 1937

Madeline Arnold made this little watercolour drawing of a vase, and I'm curious, how long did it take her? I’m thinking about the precision, the details, and the patience involved. There is something kind of great about how modest and unassuming this painting is. It doesn’t shout; it whispers. The dark red of the vase makes me think of heat and earthiness. The white foliage crawling on its surface gives it a delicate touch. I wonder if she had the real vase in front of her? Or whether it’s something she made up? You know, a sort of fantasy object. Painting is so great like that, it lets you dream things into being. Looking at this, I start to wonder what other things was she looking at? I imagine her thinking through the work of some other artist, and that work becoming a quiet guiding presence. Artists are always in conversation that way, building on what others have done and making it their own.