Cartridge Box and Bullet c. 1937

Manuel G. Runyan made this watercolor on paper of a "Cartridge Box and Bullet," date unknown. It feels almost like a diagram but with these soft edges and subtle colour shifts, it’s more like a hazy memory. See how Runyan builds up the image through thin washes of colour? There’s a real tenderness in the way he coaxes the form out of the paper, letting the light flood the surface. The bullet itself is like a little jewel, catching the light in its softly rendered facets. The outlined sketches above the box are so interesting. Are they plans, or just ghosts of the box, alternatives that Runyan didn’t take? This reminds me of other artists such as Giorgio Morandi who found the extraordinary in the everyday. There’s something about the dedication to observation, the quiet focus on simple forms, that elevates them, transforming the mundane into something almost sacred. Art is a process.