Finial c. 1940

Marian Page made this drawing of a finial, we don't know when, or with what, but you can see her hand working to record this interesting object. The colors are limited, mostly earth tones, but that's enough to get a sense of the thing. Look at the base. The texture is built up, you can almost feel the crags and chips of stone. Then see how the artist uses a little hatching in the green parts, making the leaves pop out with a sense of volume? I think the transparency and thinness of the paint allows her to build up details in layers, which gives the object a sense of weight. For me, this piece connects to other art that loves looking at the everyday. Think of Bernd and Hilla Becher's photographs of industrial structures. They looked at water towers and gas tanks with the same kind of careful attention. Art can be about seeing the beauty in everything, right? There's no one right way to look at it.