Bandbox c. 1937

Alfonso Umana made this watercolor and graphite drawing of a bandbox, and it kind of makes me think about a stage set or an illustration for a fairy tale. There's this oval on top with a basket of flowers, and below it a rectangular scene of deer bounding through a forest, and then the bottom image shows how it all comes together on the actual bandbox. The deer are so pale they almost disappear into the light blue wash of the background, and that really gives you a sense of them darting through the trees. It's like Umana is inviting us into this little world, a diorama on paper. You know, I can imagine Umana hunched over this drawing, carefully layering the colors, trying to capture the light just right. And I think about how so many artists are in conversation with each other across time, borrowing ideas, riffing off of each other's work. Painting is never really done in isolation, is it? It’s a constant process of call and response.