The Sad Girl (Kathleen Kearney) 1923

Sarah Purser made "The Sad Girl (Kathleen Kearney)" with paint, and probably a brush. It looks like she started with warm reds and oranges in the background, then cool blues and browns for the figure. I can imagine Purser, squinting, trying to capture the girl’s quiet mood. There’s something so intimate about a portrait, isn’t there? You’re not just painting a face, you’re trying to get at something deeper. The brushstrokes around the girl's face are loose, gestural—thick dabs of paint that suggest form without being too precise. It's like Purser is letting the paint itself do some of the talking. Painters like Alice Neel come to mind, who also weren't afraid to show the raw emotion of their subjects. Ultimately, painting is a conversation across time, artists responding to each other, inspiring each other to see the world in new ways. It’s about embracing the messy, the uncertain, and finding beauty in the unexpected.