Salt Dip c. 1936

John Dana’s 'Salt Dip' is an intriguing pencil on paper. You can see how each tiny diamond facet of the glass is carefully mapped out with a range of tonal values. I think about what John might have been thinking while rendering the drawing of the salt dip so meticulously. I imagine him thinking of the play of light and reflection, of precision and control. Each small, delicate line feels both descriptive and expressive, it's a conversation between the eye, the hand, and the subject. I think about the labor involved in creating an artwork like this. The patience and dedication it requires, the sheer love of looking that must be present. It reminds us that art-making is not just about the final product but about the process of seeing, thinking, and feeling. Works like this show me how artists are constantly in dialogue with one another, riffing off each other’s ideas and experiments across time.