Blonde Woman c. 1940s

Reginald Marsh made this watercolor drawing of a blonde woman on paper, we're not sure when. Look at the way Marsh has worked with such delicate washes, almost like he's sketching with water. It’s all about process here. The layering of thin, transparent colors builds up this figure with a sense of lightness. The texture is smooth, the color subdued. The way the dress seems to billow and move in real time reminds me of Degas, especially his ballet dancers. The use of color and shadow around the legs has a ghostly feeling and the model appears to float across the floor. This piece feels a bit like a fleeting glimpse, an everyday moment captured with such sensitivity. It suggests how art is never really finished, but rather a record of an ongoing process of seeing and feeling.