Calico c. 1936

Grace Halpin made this small study, *Calico,* with watercolor and graphite. Isn’t it something? She’s laid down these little flowers over a kind of blue-grey fabric. I’m really drawn to the way she used a limited palette to create a sense of depth and texture. You can really sense the careful process of building up layers of color. It's like each flower is a little world, with so many layers of meaning. The marks are delicate and precise, yet there’s a kind of looseness. The petals are soft and blurry, while the leaves are drawn with sharp, decisive lines. And look how the flowers are anchored by those dark, arching lines. They're like tiny question marks. Are they stems, handles, or just abstract forms? Thinking about Halpin’s contemporary, Hilma af Klint, I see a similar interest in abstract forms combined with naturalistic elements, suggesting an ongoing dialogue about the possibilities of representation. For me, this piece is really about how much can be said with just a few simple marks.