Among the Poppies, The Child in a Garden 1903

Jessie Willcox Smith made this piece, Among the Poppies, The Child in a Garden, with a soft touch, probably using watercolor or pastel—something that lets you build up these dreamy layers. It’s like she's thinking about artmaking as a tender process, where colors blend and forms emerge gently, like memories. Look at the way she handles the poppies; each petal seems to breathe. The paint is thin and washy, allowing light to filter through, giving it an ethereal quality. The way she captures the light on the children's faces, is almost like she's trying to capture a fleeting moment, a memory fading around the edges. Smith's work reminds me a little of Gwen John, with their shared love for quiet, intimate scenes. Both artists knew how to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. Art isn't about having all the answers but about inviting questions and lingering in the beauty of not knowing.