Crock 1936

Nicholas Amantea made this drawing of a crock using what looks like watercolor. It feels like a study, a chance to really look at something. The colors are muted, earthy – a lovely blend of browns and blues. I get the sense of him feeling his way through the subject. Look at the way the blues sit on top of the beige like a memory. I really feel like he is present with the object. There’s something special about the way he is looking at it. The little tree motif is made of dashes and dots. This reminds me of the work of Forrest Bess, another outsider artist whose work features similar symbols. Bess was also trying to understand how we experience the world. Ultimately, both artists allow for ambiguity; there is no fixed meaning.