On the top of the great beech-tree 1919

Jessie Willcox Smith made this artwork, "On the top of the great beech-tree," with what looks like watercolor and pastel. The greens and blues are swirly and ethereal, like a dream. I imagine Jessie perched on a stool, carefully layering washes of color, then adding depth with pastel. What was she thinking as she made this, I wonder? I bet she wanted to create an imaginary scene, a world that was both tender and powerful. I like the way the giant woman's hands are rendered – gentle, protective. It's like a Renaissance Madonna gone wild, set in a fairytale forest. And the way the moonlight filters through the leaves reminds me of a Pre-Raphaelite painting, full of mystery. It's all one big conversation, you know? Artists talking to each other across time and space, borrowing, stealing, and transforming ideas. Ultimately, painting is about feeling, intuition, uncertainty. There is no one way to interpret it.