Lantern c. 1940

George H. Alexander made this watercolour painting of a Lantern sometime during his long life. Look closely at the surface and you can see a delicate layering of pigment creating soft shadows and highlights. There's a stillness here. I imagine Alexander hunched over his desk with a small brush in hand. The lines of the lantern are carefully articulated, the texture of the aged metal rendered with subtle gradations of brown and grey. Each stroke feels deliberate, a patient accumulation of detail. It's as though he’s trying to catch light itself with the tip of his brush. I can imagine him getting lost in it. I do that when I paint. The choice of watercolour lends a kind of transparency to the scene, a gentle diffusion of light. It reminds me of the quiet interiors of Vilhelm Hammershøi, or maybe even some of those Shaker artists. There’s a sense of reverence for the everyday, an invitation to slow down and observe. Ultimately, artists are always in dialogue with one another through their work.