Dress c. 1936

Marie Mitchell made this watercolour and graphite drawing of a dress and you can just see all the details of its texture and its shape. The dress is pastel pink and green with delicate floral accents. Imagine Marie, pencil in hand, lightly sketching the contours of the dress, then building up layers of translucent colour with her brush. I can almost feel her hesitations, her subtle adjustments. Do you ever think about how the act of drawing or painting becomes this intimate conversation between the artist and the artwork? What was she thinking when she chose that particular shade of pink? What kind of mood was she in? There’s such incredible detail in the pleats and ruffles, in the tiny floral details that cascade down the skirt. I wonder, was she thinking about fashion? Or was she trying to evoke a feeling of romanticism and femininity? Artists are constantly in conversation with each other across time, inspiring each other's creativity. It embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.