Covered Jar c. 1940

John Collins made this 'Covered Jar' with watercolour on paper. The colours are earthy, like the jar came straight from the ground, all browns and muted greens, and it’s all about the process, the way the paint moves and settles. Up close, you see the texture in every stroke, as if Collins wanted you to feel the weight of the jar, the coolness of the clay. There is something about the lettering on the jar, it’s smudged and imperfect. It’s not about perfection; it’s about the beauty in the everyday, the marks that tell a story of use and time. It’s almost like you can see him mixing his paints, trying to get that perfect shade of brown, that glint of light on the jar’s surface. Collins’ approach reminds me of Giorgio Morandi, who found endless fascination in painting the same bottles over and over. Like Morandi, Collins shows us that art isn’t about grand gestures but about seeing deeply into the ordinary.