Drum 1935 - 1942

Charles Charon's "Drum" is an intimate drawing done with coloured pencils on paper. I imagine Charon, leaning over his desk, carefully hatching and cross-hatching with his pencils to build up the form and surface of this drum. See how each tiny stroke contributes to the drum’s overall shape, creating a rich and layered surface. The drum’s body is covered with colourful triangles, carefully delineated in shades of pink, blue, yellow, and green, lending it a festive, almost celebratory air. I wonder, what was Charon thinking as he drew each of these triangles? Did he get lost in the process, allowing the simple act of mark-making to transport him to another place? As the artist carefully rendered the drum and its beater, he shows us that the simplest objects, when looked at closely, can become portals to contemplation. It's as though, in carefully rendering this object, he's not just showing us a drum, but inviting us to consider the rhythms of life itself.