Prairie Schooner Seat c. 1937

Wilbur M Rice made this watercolor painting, Prairie Schooner Seat, sometime during his lifetime, 1909-1974. I love how the color is built up from many layers of translucent washes, like an object fading in and out of visibility. Look at how Rice handled the surface of the seat, all scumbled and mottled in dark blues and browns. The pale cloudy shapes within it make me think about wear and tear, or maybe the patterns of water stains. The whole thing feels a little bit ghostly and ethereal. I imagine Rice applying thin layer after thin layer, watching how the colors interacted and built upon each other. The repetition of these marks, the slow accumulation of color, becomes a record of time, of Rice’s labor and patience. And how about the slender vertical spindles? They are such an odd mix of tones, from a kind of mossy, grayish green to warm browns. It reminds me of the subdued color palettes of an artist like Giorgio Morandi, where the focus is less on vibrancy and more on the subtle shifts of tone and value. This painting isn't about showing off, it is much more about quiet observation.