Decoy c. 1940

Franklyn Syres made this watercolor, 'Decoy', on paper, and well, it's a bit of a tease, isn't it? The muted colors and soft edges give the piece a gentle, almost dreamlike quality. It feels like Syres wasn't just painting an object, but capturing a memory. Look at the way the brown paint is layered on the bird's body, there are lovely blotches of warm and cool shades. You can almost feel the texture of the wood, smooth in some places, rough in others. Notice the simple, almost naive rendering of the bird itself, perched atop a basic stick. The mark-making is so understated, yet there's a real sensitivity to the form. It reminds me a little of the early work of Milton Avery, who similarly found beauty in the everyday. There’s something about the simplicity that allows for multiple interpretations; a decoy is meant to deceive, but here it feels honest, like a quiet invitation.