Press c. 1937

William H. Fletcher made this watercolour painting called "Press," and it feels like he painted it from life, probably in his studio. You can see the layering of thin washes of colour to describe this industrial object. The green is subtle and modulated, shifting from olive to sage with almost imperceptible gradations. Maybe Fletcher spent hours observing it. He's capturing the way the light hits it, not just its shape. You know, when I look at this I feel his connection with the machine itself. It reminds me that making art is a bit like using a printing press: applying pressure, transferring images. What do you think Fletcher was thinking when he painted it? What kind of conversation was he having with other artists through this painting? Maybe it's a quiet one, but it's there. I mean, every artwork is a form of exchange, a rubbing up against other ideas and other makers.