Studio Trolley with Paintbrushes 1971

Avigdor Arikha made this drawing of his studio trolley, with brushes and jars, using ink. I can imagine him, in the studio, deciding what to include. Those brushes standing tall, bristling with anticipation, and all those jars like silent witnesses. This isn't just a still life; it's a portrait of the artist's world, his tools of the trade laid bare. Look closely, you can almost feel the scratch of the pen on paper, the artist's hand moving quickly, capturing the essence of the scene. He must have felt an urgency to get it all down. I think of other artists and their studios, all those different arrangements of chaos and order. Each one is unique, but they're all connected. Arikha's drawing reminds us that painting is more than just a skill; it's a way of seeing and understanding the world, a conversation that stretches back through time.