Pewter Porringer c. 1936

Arsen Maralian drew this pewter porringer with graphite and colored pencil. I’m imagining Arsen hunched over his desk, carefully shading the curves of the dish to capture its three-dimensional form. The subtle gradations of tone – from the dark depths of the bowl to the lighter rim – create a sense of depth and volume, as the light changes. What I like about this drawing is the contrast between the crisp, technical lines used to define the overall shape of the object, and the softer, more expressive marks used to render its surface. It's as if Maralian is trying to strike a balance between objective representation and subjective interpretation. You can see him working out the dimensions of this drawing in the upper left hand corner. Like all artists, he's working things out in front of us. It reminds me of my own painting process: I create a painting, and then it leads to the next one, and so on.