Dress 1935 - 1942

Gladys Cook made this drawing of a dress, and she used watercolour, so you can see the paper through the colour. What does the act of painting a dress even mean? It’s a gentle, precise, and thoughtful process. Look at this salmon color. It's not just a color; it’s a feeling. I bet she mixed it herself, a little red, a little yellow, some white, and more water. Her brushstrokes follow the lines of the dress, each one a tiny decision, a little wobble, making up the whole. I can just imagine her sitting at her desk, maybe with a cup of tea, carefully rendering each fold and button. It reminds me a bit of what Hockney was doing at a similar time. Artists are always looking at each other. This piece invites us to consider the process of making art, the quiet, intentional work of bringing something new into the world. It’s like a conversation across time, where artists inspire each other, learn from each other, and keep the dialogue going.