Sugar Bowl c. 1937

Yolande Delasser painted this sugar bowl in watercolor, with delicate washes of brown that conjure the sense of a real object. It’s like she wanted to capture not just how it looked, but the feeling of having it in her hands. I can imagine her carefully building up the tones, trying to get the light just right, coaxing the paper into showing her perception of the object. Did she use a thin brush for those little details around the rim? It reminds me of Morandi and his bottles. There is a similar commitment to the quiet, humble object right in front of you. You know, painting something like this is an act of love and attention. It's about slowing down and really seeing, isn't it? It's a process of inquiry, a conversation between the artist, the object, and the medium. And it shows us how even the simplest things can be full of beauty, depth, and feeling. Artists throughout time have painted still lives and continued to learn about colour and expression.