Clothes Pin Basket c. 1938

Herndon Hightower made this drawing of a Clothes Pin Basket. The soft watercolor wash feels so different from the actual object it’s depicting, there's a looseness of handling to the form that you don't get with the harder edged basket. Look how the texture comes from the repetition of brushstrokes, one next to the other. See where the handle joins the bucket, a real dark patch, like a shadow where it connects, the color is built up more in this area. It’s such a simple, everyday thing, this basket, but there’s something about the way it’s rendered that makes it feel special. The slightly off-kilter perspective adds to this sense of charm. There's something about this I am reminded of Giorgio Morandi and his paintings of bottles and jars, a similar attention to the beauty of simple, functional objects. We can find our own voice in how we choose to depict the world around us.