Untitled (The Water Tower) c. 1939

George White Good made this drawing of a water tower with pencil on paper. It makes me wonder about the hand that guided the pencil, building up the image with layer upon layer of tiny marks. I can imagine Good carefully studying the light as it hit the metal and the wood, and the more he looked the more the image shifted and morphed. You know, sometimes when I'm in the studio, I get so absorbed in looking at what I'm making that I lose all sense of time. I wonder if Good had a similar experience making this? The way the clouds are drawn with such care and precision is beautiful. It reminds me of the work of Agnes Martin, in the way the repetition of lines creates a sense of calm and stillness. Artists are always talking to each other, whether they know it or not.