"Baby" Hand Puppet c. 1936

Elmer Weise made this watercolor of a hand puppet, and it’s kinda strange and beautiful. I imagine him carefully mixing pinks and reds for the feet and face, maybe with a very small brush. Look how the puppet's cloak seems to envelop it, almost like a second skin. Was Elmer thinking about the stories these puppets tell, the characters they embody? Those big eyes and red lips are kind of haunting, and the feet seem to be floating, or maybe it's just standing on its tippy toes? I wonder what Elmer was trying to express with this figure. I find myself drawn to artists like Redon or Ensor, who explored the strange and surreal, using color and form to evoke unsettling emotions. Art's a conversation through time, and Elmer's work reminds us that painting can be a way to embrace the weird, to find beauty in the unexpected.