Hawsing Beetle 1939

Orison Daeda made this watercolor of a Hawsing Beetle in 1939. The unassuming color palette—the browns and beiges of wood, along with the steely gray of metal—gives way to the realization that, through paint, Daeda can reimagine how we look at a familiar object. What strikes me is the way Daeda celebrates materiality. He meticulously captures the texture of the wooden handle, with its intricate grain, as well as the worn surface of the beetle head, suggesting the tool’s history of use. Notice the subtle gradations in tone, which reveal the way light plays across the object. Take a look at the rough edges where the metal meets the wooden handle. The artist brings our attention to the connection point, highlighting the beauty in a simple, everyday object. It’s a bit like what Charles Sheeler did, or even some of the precision that Edward Hopper brought to the most mundane aspects of American life. The magic is not to conceal but to reveal the world in front of us.