Dress c. 1937

Roberta Spicer made this drawing, Dress, with graphite and watercolor on paper, but when exactly, we don’t know. Look at how she uses these simple tools to create such a vivid image. It makes me wonder what her process was like. The texture and color are so descriptive. The red, blue, and green plaid really pops against the neutral background. Imagine the feel of that fabric. Spicer's attention to detail, like the tiny pleats and the delicate lace collar, are almost tactile, as if you could reach out and touch them. And that curious line drawing of a second dress floating in the background suggests so much! Spicer reminds me a bit of Elizabeth Murray in the way that she can bring a sort of cartoon-like reality to her work. Both artists embrace ambiguity and allow for multiple ways of seeing.