Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit on Christmas Day 1937

Jessie Willcox Smith made this image of Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit, and it’s got such a warm feeling to it, despite the snow. I’m thinking about her making this—the way she built up the colours, one layer at a time, like soft watercolour washes. There’s something so gentle in the way she’s handled the scene, not shying away from the hardships, but focusing on the love between them. I wonder if she was thinking about her own family when she made this? Or perhaps she was just lost in the story, like we are when we read a good book. Notice how the edges of the figures soften into their surroundings; it's as if the paint is alive, breathing with the same breath as the characters. It reminds me of other illustrators like Arthur Rackham, who also brought fairy tales to life with such tenderness. Painters, illustrators, we’re all in this conversation together, passing ideas back and forth like a game of telephone. And like any good conversation, there’s always room for interpretation, for seeing things in a new light.