Coverlet 1935 - 1942

This is Willoughby Ions' "Coverlet," made without a specific date using watercolor, graphite, and gouache. Look closely at the colors here – the muted reds and blues, and how they play off the off-white ground. There’s a real push and pull. I’m fascinated by how the individual marks build the overall image. It's like each little dash and dot is a decision, a tiny act of construction. The way the colors are laid down, so deliberately, gives the piece a real sense of texture. You can almost feel the weave of the original coverlet that this drawing represents. Notice where the colors overlap and blend. There's a softening there, but it also brings out a sense of the artist's hand. The way the artist has signed his name so prominently also brings attention to the human behind this work. It reminds me a little of Anni Albers' weaving patterns and how she elevates craft to fine art, using abstraction to find something universal in the everyday.