Bracelets c. 1937

Tulita Westfall made this drawing of bracelets, we don't know when, or what with, but the marks and lines suggest a careful, considered process. I’m drawn to the materiality here, the way the gold color is built up, not quite flat, not quite textured, but something in between. You can almost feel the hand moving, repeating patterns. And then that odd flash of pale pink, like a little surprise. It reminds me of how I layer colors in my own work, letting certain hues peek through. There’s a sense of repetition, of course, but it’s not mechanical. Each mark feels personal, even slightly wonky, and contributes to a rhythm across the whole image. Thinking about the drawing as a whole, I'm reminded of Hilma af Klint's drawings, not in terms of style, but that sense of patient observation and the commitment to describing the form of something. It’s like Westfall is showing us not just what these bracelets look like, but how she sees them. Art is a conversation like that, always evolving.