Pewter Tankard c. 1936

John Dixon made this watercolor of a pewter tankard sometime in the 18th or 19th century, and what grabs me is how he coaxes out this reflective surface with simple, almost casual washes of colour. Look at the way he models the form with these broad strokes, how the light glances off the curves and edges. It's all about capturing the essence of the object, not getting bogged down in fussy details. This approach reminds me of Morandi, who would paint the same bottles over and over, each time trying to distill their form down to its purest expression. The beauty of watercolour, like any medium, lies in its immediacy, its ability to convey a sense of light and atmosphere with just a few strokes. I love the shadow too, it is more free and expressive than the Tankard itself. Dixon's piece isn't about photographic realism; it's about the poetry of seeing, the magic of turning humble objects into something beautiful and enduring.