Axe 1935 - 1942

Hal Blakeley made this drawing of an Axe, we don't know when, using an unknown medium. The gray-brown palette and careful modeling give the axe a weighty, solid presence. It’s got that workmanlike quality, the kind of tool you’d find in a shed that’s seen some action. Look at the way Blakeley renders the grain of the wood, especially on the handle, with these delicate striations and tiny circular marks. Each groove and imperfection is lovingly recorded, transforming a utilitarian object into something almost monumental. It reminds me of those early American portraits where the artists tried to capture every detail of a person's face as a way of preserving their presence and history. This drawing has the plain-spoken quality of American folk art, but it also brings to mind the precise and meticulous work of someone like Durer. This Axe shows how even the most humble objects can be transformed into something profound through the act of close observation and careful rendering.