Tin Stove c. 1937

Vincent P. Rosel made this watercolour drawing of a Tin Stove. I’m thinking about Vincent in his studio making this work. It's a kind of a technical drawing but it's also so not. I love the way he has included a secondary drawing in the left hand corner, like an architect might. Rosel’s is an observational exercise. I wonder what he was thinking when he was making it? How did he decide on the colour, the line weight, the size, the composition? It’s a beautiful and intriguing object and Vincent encourages us to examine it closely too. Look how he’s built up the colour in layers to give the stove form and substance. It’s not flat. There is a real intimacy to this work; it's like Vincent is whispering a secret. It reminds me of the still life paintings of Giorgio Morandi, these are two artists really noticing the world around them.