Colonial Mirror c. 1937

This 'Colonial Mirror' seems to be a watercolour on paper by Alfred Walbeck. I love how Walbeck has used the watercolour to give the mirror a sense of depth. It almost feels like you can step right into it. There's something about the textures here that really grabs me. The way he's rendered the wood grain, it's not just about showing what it looks like, but feeling it, too. And then, that little landscape at the top? It's like a whole other world squeezed into this one object, a miniature painting, earthy, with a ruin like structure against the pastel sky. I'm drawn to the way the colours shift and blend, suggesting not just light and shadow, but also the passage of time. It reminds me a little of Charles Burchfield, who also had this knack for finding the extraordinary in the ordinary, turning everyday scenes into something almost mystical. Art's just a conversation, you know? Walbeck's talking to Burchfield, and they're both talking to us, inviting us to see the world a little differently.