Spinning Wheel 1935 - 1942

Ludmilla Calderon made this delicate watercolor of a spinning wheel. The careful strokes and muted palette are so charming. You can almost feel Calderon’s close attention to the shapes and the making of the object, a slow, considered process. Look at how the artist suggests the texture of the wood through thin, transparent layers of paint, allowing the paper to shine through. The shadows are built up with precise, methodical strokes. Notice the careful rendering of light as it catches the edges and curves of the wheel. It reminds me of the drawings of architectural details by Hilma af Klint, though she went in a totally different direction with her abstraction. It’s fascinating how artists, working with different subjects, can still share a similar sensibility or approach to observation. Art's like a big conversation, isn't it? Never really ends, and it is always open to interpretation.