Plate 6: Chapel Altarpiece, Santa Cruz: From Portfolio "Spanish Colonial Designs of New Mexico" 1935 - 1942

This watercolor titled 'Plate 6: Chapel Altarpiece, Santa Cruz' from the portfolio "Spanish Colonial Designs of New Mexico" uses simple washes to render a copy of a traditional alter panel. There's something so direct about the way the anonymous artist worked – look at the way the blue wash settles like pools, and the edges that bleed and bloom to create soft borders. You can see the artist enjoyed how the pigment moves. I think this is what gives the piece its charm, because it's unpretentious and straightforward. The figures have their own kind of wonky presence, which I enjoy. And then that red, that simple, clear red of the Virgin's robes. The piece is not trying to deceive anyone; it's just a humble tribute. This kind of process brings to mind the work of Forrest Bess, who also saw artmaking as a form of deep personal expression. And that's what's great about art in the end – it's not about perfection, but about seeing and feeling.