Oil Can with Spout c. 1938

Earl Butlin made this drawing of an oil can and its spout, date unknown, using what looks like watercolour. The surface is incredibly smooth, so I wonder if it's been laboured over, with each stroke carefully considered. There is an almost meditative quality to the work, a quiet concentration on the mundane. Notice how Butlin uses a limited palette, focusing on earth tones that mimic the colour of aged metal. The rusty patches on the can’s surface are created with subtle gradations, capturing the essence of corrosion. The handle is particularly interesting, look at the way it’s rendered as almost flat, yet still conveys a sense of depth and form. It’s these moments of ambiguity that make the drawing so compelling. Butlin reminds me of Giorgio Morandi with his paintings of bottles, or maybe Agnes Martin, a similar attention to the everyday, transformed through simple mark making. It’s a reminder that art doesn’t always need to shout; sometimes the quietest voices resonate the loudest.