Vase 1938

This watercolour titled 'Vase' was made by J. Howard Iams in 1926. The layering of cool blues and whites gives the piece a sense of depth and almost sculpts the form of the vase. You can really feel the process of building up those layers. There’s an interesting tension between the flatness of the paper and the illusion of three-dimensionality. The blue paint looks almost like a glaze, set against the raised, textured white portions. Notice the intricate detailing around the vase, the grapes, the leaves, it's as if Iams is trying to replicate the texture of porcelain using just watercolour. Look at the rendering of the bird contained within the circle, like a coin hanging from the vase. The bird has such clarity of detail, with such minimal tonal variation, it’s incredible. Iams's dedication to capturing everyday objects on paper reminds me a little of Giorgio Morandi. Both artists invite us to contemplate beauty in the mundane. There is such intimacy and care in Iams’s mark-making here, a sense of art being an ongoing conversation.