Doll - "Amelia" c. 1937

This is "Amelia", a doll rendered in watercolor by Eugene Croe, sometime in the 20th century. I can almost feel Croe leaning in, brush in hand, carefully building up the layers of color to capture every detail of Amelia’s dress. Look at those vertical stripes, each one dotted with tiny flowers! I bet he was really into patterns. The way the bright blue sash cinches her waist adds this lovely pop of contrast. You can see that Croe was probably thinking about how to capture the light and shadow to give Amelia a sense of presence. What I love about this kind of painting is the dedication to something so seemingly simple. It makes me want to slow down and appreciate the small things. It's all about seeing the world with fresh eyes, isn't it?