Flowers and Strawberries in Basket, Early Naive Ink and Watercolor on Wove sweet drawing two stylized bird with pin

two stylized bird with pin pricked outlines that feel very Pennsylvania

which is about the right size to hold a rolled up note to self for safekeeping

The figure is carved of wood with what looks to me like a combination of graphite for the face and either crayon or paint for the orange and black details

His work is featured in collections including Baltimore Museum of Art

all done with a precision and elegance that I find really lovely--while also

Flowers and Strawberries in Basket, Early Naive Ink and Watercolor on Wove sweet drawing two stylized bird with pinYou know I'm a sucker for a naive floral watercolor, and this I believe is quite an early one, 1st half 19th c.(and I think closer to 1800 than 1850), with a wonderful looseness and sense of whimsy to it indeed, it looks almost as if the basket is about to tip over with the weight of all those flowers! Fabulous woven basket, fabulous flurry of green, with roses and bluebells and pansies and strawberries and who knows what all spilling out. I