Pa. German Plate c. 1936

William L. Antrim made this Pa. German Plate. Look at the image closely. There is a beautiful kind of freedom that you can see in every brushstroke, every line. The piece is delicately painted with a restrained palette of browns, greens, and reds. Imagine how Antrim built up the image, one layer at a time, resolving issues as they arose. It must have been like tending a garden, carefully nurturing the flowers until they burst into bloom. The artist encourages the shapes to gently fill the space, allowing areas of the plate to peek through. The colors used are earthy and muted, like pigments derived from nature. You can imagine the artist’s hand moving across the surface, guided by intuition and memory, creating a conversation between control and chance.