Copper Kettle c. 1939

Edward L. Loper painted this copper kettle, carefully describing its colour with watercolour. It’s so warm and still, right? I like to think about how this painting came into being. Loper must have spent hours looking at this object, noticing how light reveals subtle colour shifts and patinas on the copper surface. It looks like he’s using thin washes, one layer at a time. You get a sense of how light and shadow play around the curves of the kettle’s body. I can imagine the artist patiently building up the image in layers, trying to capture a specific moment. There's a lot of quiet looking in this work. It reminds me that art is all about conversation, with the artist, and with the world.