Our Lady of Guadalupe (Bulto) c. 1938

Majel G. Claflin made this watercolor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, or *bulto*, sometime before 1941. I love the way Claflin embraced the flatness of the 2D surface. She wasn't trying to fool anyone into thinking they were looking at a real sculpture. It’s a painting of a sculpture! The paint is applied in thin washes, almost like she’s sketching with color. The lines are soft, and everything feels kind of permeable. Look at how she handled the folds of the Virgin's dress. They're suggested with just a few strokes of a slightly darker red. It’s like she’s saying, “Here’s a fold, but it’s also just paint on paper.” I think that underneath the Virgin's feet is an angel peeking out from behind her robes, rendered in a few simple strokes of green, red, and yellow. Claflin shares some similarities with Milton Avery, another artist who wasn't afraid to use color in unexpected ways. Both artists invite us to see the world with fresh eyes, appreciating the beauty in simplicity and the power of suggestion. It’s not about what things *are*, but how we *see* them.