Bullet Mold 1941

Herman O. Stroh drew this bullet mold sometime around 1941. The even-handed washes of brown and tan give a sense of process. You can imagine the artist leaning over the paper, carefully building up the tones with a wet brush. There’s a simplicity here, a directness in the way the object is depicted. It's not about showing off skill, it's more about quiet observation. The tool itself looks like it was made to be held, weighty and solid. The color is not quite rust, but there is a suggestion of it. If you look closely at the way the light hits the metal, you can see how Stroh used these thin washes to build up form, a kind of subtle modeling. This piece reminds me of some of those Shaker drawings; both have a love of simple forms. Art isn’t always about complexity. Sometimes, it’s about finding beauty in the everyday, opening our eyes to the world around us.