Doll - "Clarissa" c. 1937

Rex F. Bush made this watercolour painting of “Clarissa” the doll sometime between 1855 and 1995, we don’t know exactly when. The brushwork is so delicate, look at the way each individual wooden component of the doll has been rendered with soft gradations of colour. There is a real focus on capturing the subtle shifts in tone and shadow across the doll’s surface. It’s as if the artist is trying to understand the object by meticulously recreating its form through paint. The level of detail makes me think about a kind of intense observation, where the act of painting becomes a way of knowing. I can imagine Bush slowly building up the image, layer by layer, almost caressing the surface of the paper with the brush. This piece reminds me of the work of outsider artist Henry Darger, both have that slightly obsessive quality. Art isn't about answers, it's about embracing the questions.