Design from Proposed Portfolio 1935 - 1942

This decorative design was made by an anonymous artist using gouache and graphite on paper. I like to imagine the artist making this, playing with different forms of color, line and image. There’s such a tactile sense of making here; the blue, red, and yellow gouache is so matte, it’s like it's been breathed onto the surface. What was the artist thinking, as they built up those floral forms? What part of nature were they observing? They allow the red stems to take over and support the yellow blooms. I feel like I'm watching them think, as they allow the stems and leaves to wind and weave. It reminds me of other artists who’ve reveled in the sheer pleasure of ornament, and the process of building an image from the ground up, each step informing the next. Artists are always in dialogue with each other, borrowing, lending, and adding to the conversation. Making art is a generous act, a contribution to an ongoing human endeavor.