Dress c. 1938

Julie C. Brush’s ‘Dress’ is a watercolour on paper, and it's all about process for me. The soft washes and the delicate lines suggest a real sense of patience and care. I love how the grid pattern is built up from individual squares of colour. Look closely, and you'll see how each square is slightly different – some are more transparent, others have a denser, more opaque feel. I imagine Julie carefully mixing each shade, testing it, and then applying it to the paper with a fine brush. There's a wonderful tension between the regularity of the grid and the irregularity of the hand-painted marks. The muted palette is gorgeous, too, with its subtle greys and browns. It reminds me a bit of the work of Agnes Martin, actually, where she uses a similar kind of repetitive mark-making to create a sense of quiet contemplation. Ultimately, this piece reveals the beauty of imperfection and the value of process.