Foot Scraper c. 1940

This drawing of a foot scraper was made by Nicholas Amantea at an unknown date, using what looks like watercolor on paper. I love the way Amantea has described the surface of the stone in earth tones. You can almost feel the grit. See how he’s worked the paint, adding dabs of darker brown to build up the texture? It's a patient process, a slow build-up. The contrast with the dark, wrought iron scraper is wonderful, its curly shapes casting a faint shadow. The iron almost seems delicate sitting on that hefty rock. I bet it could tell a story or two about the kind of mud and muck it has been tasked with removing over the years. Amantea’s work reminds me of Charles Sheeler’s Precisionist paintings, the way he finds beauty in the everyday. But unlike Sheeler, there’s a kind of handmade quality to Amantea's rendering, a love for the object that feels very personal. It's a reminder that art can be found in the humblest of places.