Weather Vane c. 1939

This is Samuel W. Ford’s Weather Vane, made with paint on paper. It’s how Ford approaches the surface that draws me in. The delicate washes of colour create a quietness. Everything seems to exist in a single plane, and the colour is so consistent, like a memory gently fading. I love the way the form of the horse is so matter-of-fact. The colour is applied thinly, creating a semi-transparent effect and softening the horse's features. If you look closely, you’ll see where Ford returned to add greater definition to the horse's chest and hind legs, strengthening the visual tension of the drawing, making me ask myself, what is a drawing, anyway? It’s that play between form and non-form that gives the work its charm. Ford’s image-making makes me think of Charles Burchfield, but without the angst. In both artists’ work, a sense of nostalgia transforms a commonplace object into something unique and dreamlike.