Billethead c. 1939

Hazel Hyde made Billethead, this drawing, at some point in her lifetime. It's a rendering, an attempt to capture something of volume and depth with simple tools. Look at how the hatching of the lines creates a sense of shadow, suggesting a third dimension on this totally flat surface. There's a subtle dance between the actual flatness of the paper and the illusion of form. The color palette is restrained, but that doesn't make it dull. Hyde coaxes a surprising range of tones from just a few earthy pigments. It reminds me a little of Giorgio Morandi, in the way that both artists find endless fascination in the interplay of light and shadow, the way that simple forms can be made to sing through careful observation and mark-making. Art is an ongoing conversation, across time, across media, between the artist and the viewer.