Wood Carving - Flower c. 1939

Lionel Ritchey made this delicate watercolor painting of a wood carving, but we don’t know when, exactly. What was it like for Ritchey to spend time with this carved flower? What was the light in the room like, as he picked out the shadows beneath the petals? The paint is applied in such thin washes, it’s almost as if he were trying to stain the paper, rather than cover it. He teases out the various shades of brown, gray, and taupe in the wood. There’s one spot of peach on the upper-right petal that I keep coming back to – what does it mean? Did he see it there, or did he put it there? It feels like a little spark of warmth in an otherwise cool and neutral composition. Ritchey’s painting reminds me of the ongoing conversation between artists. We look, we borrow, we steal, and we transform. It’s a beautiful and messy process. We build on what came before, and we leave something for those who come after.