Pewter Honey Jar c. 1937

Beulah Bradleigh painted this pewter honey jar with watercolor on paper. You can see the brushstrokes dancing over the surface, trying to capture that elusive metallic gleam. It's almost like she's trying to hold light itself. I wonder what Beulah was thinking, painting this humble object. Maybe she was drawn to the way light played on the curves of the metal, how it seemed to shift and change with every little movement. I’m also a painter and I know how that goes. Look at the way she’s built up the layers of color, letting them bleed and blend together. It gives the jar a real sense of depth and volume. The handle is kind of quirky, isn't it? It's like a little flourish of personality in an otherwise straightforward composition. It reminds me of Morandi's still lifes, or maybe even some of those early American folk paintings. Artists, we're all in conversation, borrowing and stealing from each other across time. I reckon it's an ongoing game of telephone where the message keeps changing and evolving. That's how it should be.