Shaker Dining Room Cupboard c. 1937

William Paul Childers made this drawing of a Shaker Dining Room Cupboard with watercolor and graphite. It has an exacting neatness that I find strangely compelling. Look at the way the wood grain is described, almost like a topographical map in shades of brown, it is the careful accumulation of thin layers of color that give depth to the wood. The blue wall in the background is painted in flat, even tones, creating an odd sense of depth, as if the cupboard is floating in space. This kind of simple rendering almost has more to say than any complicated realist painting. There is an attention to detail and a love of craft that recalls the work of artists like Agnes Martin who embraced simplicity to convey the feeling that there is always another layer beneath the surface. What do you see?