Handkerchief c. 1937

Gordena Jackson made this painting of a handkerchief sometime during her lifetime, she died in 1993. The lace trim is really something isn’t it? You can just imagine Gordena with her brush, trying to capture all those tiny, delicate details. What a meditative, patient act. I wonder if she herself owned a handkerchief like this, one that maybe held special memories, or was made by someone she loved. That subtle play of light and shadow on the fabric – it’s like she’s trying to preserve something fragile, something easily lost. It almost reminds me of a Morandi still life, simple but full of understated emotion. There’s a quiet intensity in her gaze, an effort to translate the subtle into something we can all see and feel. It's the kind of everyday painting that reveals so much about the artist and the quiet dignity of everyday life.