Pewter Tobacco Jar c. 1941

Ardella Watkins made this drawing of a Pewter Tobacco Jar, its lids removed, using pencil on paper. Look at how Watkins uses tone to describe form, a delicate range of grays to render the play of light across the surfaces of the metal. It’s a drawing about observation and touch, isn’t it? About really looking at and considering everyday objects. Notice how Watkins has approached the challenge of depicting the reflective properties of pewter, using soft gradations of shading to suggest highlights and shadows. There's a real commitment to process here, you can see Watkins slowly building up the image, through layered strokes. This reminds me a little of the drawings of Giorgio Morandi, another artist interested in the poetic potential of humble, quotidian objects. Watkins and Morandi remind us that art isn’t always about grand statements, but about the quiet and careful act of looking.