Adze c. 1941

LeRoy Griffith’s watercolor, ‘Adze’ is a painting of a tool. The palette is very minimal, mostly muted browns and grays, but there is a surprising amount of variation in the mark making. Griffith has depicted the adze with careful attention to the textures of wood and metal. I love the way the artist renders the surface of the metal, you can almost feel the cool smoothness. The worn handle, the chipped and rusted blade, you can imagine what the tool feels like in your hands. Look closely at the way the light catches the curve of the blade, how the shadow defines the forms. The process of painting, like the process of using the tool, is about shaping and refining, isn't it? There’s a strange tension between the precision of the rendering and the almost dreamlike quality of the image. It reminds me of the work of Charles Sheeler, who found beauty in the clean lines of industrial design. Griffith's painting invites us to consider the beauty and simplicity of everyday objects and reminds us that art is an ongoing conversation. It's always open to new interpretations.