Candlestick c. 1937

Beulah Bradleigh made this small watercolor of a candlestick sometime in the 20th century. The candlestick is rendered in delicate washes of grey and blue, it’s as if Bradleigh built up the form through layers, letting the watercolor find its own way. The paint handling is simple and direct. The surface is matte, the handmade paper is visible. The way the watercolor bleeds softly at the edges gives the object a hazy, dreamlike quality. Look at the way the spiraling lines that define the form shift and change, how the color varies, light to dark. It’s like the candlestick is breathing. It reminds me a little of Giorgio Morandi, another artist who found endless variations in simple, everyday objects. Both invite us to slow down and really see. And isn’t that what art is all about?