Syrup Container 1938

Clarence Secor made this watercolor syrup container sometime during his long life. It's got a subdued palette of grays and blues, with the lightest touch, almost like he was breathing the paint onto the paper. I can imagine Secor now, carefully observing the play of light on its metallic surface, the way the shadows define its cylindrical form. He's probably thinking, "How do I make it feel weighty and solid?" See how he uses those subtle gradations of tone to create a sense of depth, of the syrup container sitting there in front of him? It feels both precise and a little bit dreamy, don’t you think? It's fascinating how a simple, everyday object can become a subject of such careful contemplation. Artists have been doing that forever, right? Taking the mundane and making it... not. It's like he's whispering, "Look closer, there's beauty everywhere, even in the thing that holds your syrup."