Bishop Hill: Pitcher c. 1936

James Vail made this watercolor of a pitcher sometime in the mid-20th century. It’s a kind of unassuming object, really, rendered in these soft, earthy browns and tans. You can see the way Vail layers the washes to create volume, letting the colors blend and bleed just so. What strikes me is how he gives us not just one view, but three! It’s like he’s turning the pitcher in his mind, or maybe he wants us to really consider its form. Each angle offers a different perspective, a different way of understanding the object. Look at the dark, mysterious interior of the pitcher in that top-down view. It’s a bit unsettling, isn't it? But that’s what makes it so compelling. Vail’s approach reminds me a little of Charles Demuth’s precisionist watercolors, but with a warmer, more human touch. It’s as if he’s inviting us to slow down and really look at the things we often take for granted. And isn’t that what art is all about?