Candlestand c. 1936

Carl Weiss rendered this Candlestand with pencil on paper sometime in the 20th century, and it’s got this cool, hand-wrought quality that just sings. The marks are laid down with such clear-eyed confidence. Like the artist really looked at the object in front of him and just went for it. You can see the graphite kind of catching on the paper’s texture, especially in the darker areas, giving it a subtle, toothy feel. It’s not trying to hide the process, you know? It's not trying to be slick. The lines have a bit of wobble to them, a human touch. Check out the way the base of the stand flares out, like three little feet. There’s something almost playful about how they’re rendered, like the stand is about to walk away. It reminds me of Guston's clumsy, lovable forms – the way he could find such pathos in the everyday. This Candlestand might seem simple, but it's really just about seeing and feeling.