Tumbler c. 1936

This painting is a tumbler drawn by Ralph Atkinson, but the date is unknown! Imagine him studying this glass—the light refracting, the way the facets catch and throw shadows, and the challenge of representing clarity on a flat surface. I wonder if he labored over this work! The watercolor seems translucent, almost ethereal. It’s like he's trying to capture the essence of light itself. The precision in rendering the cut glass is striking, yet there's also a softness, a gentle touch that keeps it from feeling too rigid. It reminds me of Morandi, in a way, just finding endless fascination and beauty in the simplest, most ordinary things. Painters are always responding to each other, whether consciously or not. They are constantly picking up where others left off. I wonder if any paintings were sloshing around in his mind while he was at work? And I wonder what kind of drink he would have put in his Tumbler if he had one at the time?