Pitcher 1935 - 1942

John Tarantino made this watercolor painting of a glass pitcher, we don’t know when, but sometime between 1855 and 1995. What grabs me is the way the colour suggests the form, making the pitcher seem almost liquid. It's not about filling in a shape so much as building up the image through translucent strokes of teal and grey wash. Look how the colour varies – thick and intense at the base, then dissolving into transparency as it rises. There is something wonderful in the physicality of watercolor paint. I love the way he renders the light, and how it suggests a kind of rippling motion. The handle, with its delicate curls, it’s practically begging to be picked up and held. It makes me think of Giorgio Morandi, who was so good at capturing the stillness of everyday objects. But with Tarantino, there's a sense of movement. It reminds us that art is an ongoing conversation, always shifting and changing.