Maple Sugar Bucket c. 1940

Chris Makrenos' watercolor on paper shows a maple sugar bucket, carefully observed, each stave and band delineated with incredible precision. I'm just picturing him, totally absorbed in the process. Maybe he started with light pencil marks, mapping out the form, the tilt of the lid, the subtle shadows. And then, the slow build-up of transparent washes, layering those warm yellows and browns to mimic the wood grain. The way he captures the light reflecting off the surface, the subtle variations in tone... it's like he's trying to get at the very essence of the thing itself. I can imagine other painters in this work. Think of those Dutch still lifes. Or maybe even some of the American Precisionists. There is a similar attention to detail, a quiet reverence for the everyday object.