Lumberman's First Aid Kit c. 1942

This is George Roehl’s ‘Lumberman’s First Aid Kit’, and it looks like it’s made with watercolor. I imagine Roehl, born way back in 1855, carefully layering the watercolor, trying to capture the texture and color of that wood and the metal. It is an odd sort of painting: a portrait of an object. What was he thinking as he painted each little ring around the bands? Did he know someone who used one of these? This isn’t a painting of lumberjacks cutting down trees. Instead, it’s a very specific, quiet observation. The red-orange wood and the dull metal create a sense of warmth and history. I am reminded of folk art and the impulse to commemorate everyday life. Paintings like this remind us that artists see the world in their own way, transforming the ordinary into something special.