Doll c. 1938

Verna Tallman’s ‘Doll’ is an intimate watercolor on paper; you can almost feel her patiently layering the washes. The image emerges like a memory, full of small details that seem almost reverent. I imagine Tallman, in her time, quietly focused, each brushstroke a meditation on form and color. Those blues! Such a democratic color, all-American. The drum and the hat rendered with such care, giving the impression that everything is hand-made, and all the more valuable for it. The way the hat sits jauntily on the doll’s head gives the whole piece a sense of warmth, personality, and play. When I see this, I’m reminded of other artists who celebrate the handmade – folks like Mike Kelley with his stuffed animals or even Sophie Taeuber-Arp's marionettes. There’s a lineage there, you know? Artists talking to each other across generations through form and feeling. Painting is not about answers, but about keeping the conversation alive.