Two Quart Jar 1935 - 1942

Clyde L. Cheney made this gorgeous watercolour and graphite of a 'Two Quart Jar' sometime in his long lifetime. I love the intimacy of this painting, its focus on the everyday. Cheney's careful rendering of the jar's form—that slightly wonky, hand-thrown quality—makes you feel like you could reach out and touch it. You can see the build-up of the washes, the careful layering of color that gives the jar its depth and weight. I imagine Cheney hunched over his work, squinting, mixing and remixing those earthy tones just so. In a way, it reminds me of Giorgio Morandi's still lifes, those quiet meditations on the poetry of simple objects. Like Morandi, Cheney transforms the mundane into something profound, inviting us to contemplate the beauty and significance of the things that surround us. It reminds us that art isn't just about grand gestures or dramatic statements, but about paying attention, seeing deeply, and finding the extraordinary in the ordinary.