Colcha 1935 - 1942

Majel G. Claflin made this painting on an unknown date with, it looks like, gouache on paper. The colours are super flat, like old cartoons. The drawing is so direct, and the shapes are so simplified it's hard not to see all the choices as immediate and process-driven. Everything is outlined, but the paint doesn’t quite meet the lines. The yellowy ground feels brushed on and the pink on top is more deliberate, giving the whole thing a layered effect. Look at the way the pink blob kind of echoes the shape of the horse and rider above. It creates a visual rhythm throughout the composition. These elements, the pink shapes, the brown outlines, work together, forming a cohesive, almost musical arrangement. It reminds me of Forrest Bess, another artist working intuitively. Their works share that feeling that the painting process is like a form of thinking. It's like each painting is a question, a search, not a statement.