Jug c. 1936

Frank Fumagalli made this drawing of a jug using what looks like watercolor and pencil. I’m looking at how the brown washes pool and bleed into one another, creating a sense of depth and volume. He must have worked wet into wet, letting the colors mingle on the page. What was he thinking as he built up these layers? Was he trying to capture the way light reflects off the glazed surface, or was he more interested in the jug’s overall form and character? There’s something so ordinary and profound about this jug. It reminds me of Morandi’s still lifes, but with a more functional, everyday feel. It’s amazing how an artist can transform a simple object into a vehicle for exploring color, light, and texture. We, as painters, are constantly engaging in a visual conversation, riffing off one another's ideas and approaches.