On the top of the great beech-tree 1919

Jessie Willcox Smith, sometime in the early 20th century, made this image ‘On the top of the great beech-tree’ with I think pastels or a similar soft medium. The colours are muted; greens and blues melting into skin tones, which gives the picture a dreamy, otherworldly feel. It makes me think about how sometimes the best art comes from letting the materials do their thing, letting the pastel dust blend and blur. Look at the way the mother’s gown is formed of subtle gradations and soft hazy strokes. There’s a real push-pull between representation and abstraction. The way the stars seem to pierce through the gaps in the foliage is so clever, like little pinpricks of light in a dark sky. Smith is perhaps best known for her illustrations, particularly those of children. There’s something of that here, but also something wilder, more imaginative; maybe something of Arthur Rackham in the fairytale-esque subject matter. Art is always a conversation, right? A back-and-forth across time.