Teapot c. 1938

Douglas Cox made this drawing of a teapot with pencil, focusing on tone and form. It's all about the dance of light, isn't it? You know, how light defines shape, and then shape reflects light, back and forth. I'm drawn to how Cox captures the sheen of the metal. He uses smooth, blended graphite to give the teapot a lustrous, almost liquid quality. But then, there are these tiny, precise details, especially in the floral designs around the middle, where you can see the hand of the artist, almost like little whispers. It’s as though he’s inviting us to really look, not just glance. It reminds me a little of Giorgio Morandi, with his quiet still lifes of bottles and jars, but Cox brings his own kind of humble precision to it. It’s a simple subject, but the way he renders it elevates the ordinary into something worth pausing over.