No Doll

Very lovely and well executed piece that is purely open for interpretation which only adds to its appeal. Regarding the criticism, the things that I feel can be improved on are:

- The wall. The manner in which it was painted in is very soft and lacks texture. This is especially evident when comparing to the very well detailed and sharp texture of the floor. I can understand softening it, to add more emphasis to the figure, but I feel it is way too airbrushed and randomly colored, making it resemble human flesh.

- Drapery / wallpaper in the top right corner. Not exactly sure what that is, due to the bottom of it being vary vague, looking like it's dissolving into the wall. A bit more refinement as to what's going on there would've been nice. In addition, the blue lighting in the corner of it feels out of place and is distracting to the eye once you notice it.

Last thing is minor and some may say it depends on personal taste, but I feel that her revealed breast is small in proportion to her head, as well as can benefit from more refinement. A subtle highlight along with a stronger shadow at the bottom can give it better definition.

Hope that helped. Great work man!

Immediately I'm struck by the incredible detail & beauty of the background elements (the fine detail of the dollhouse, the texture of wall & floor, the damask wall print: in which it was a good choice to include while not having it cover the entire wall to serve as a distracting element). The little bits of vine creeping into the painting becomes something like a bit of a signature (in addition to the actual signature).

This painting employs an oft-used theme, but the extreme subtlety of the pose and facial features express so much more than if the pose, costuming, and face (makeup) were all-out doll or marionette (and avoids being hackneyed along those lines), keeping the focus on the deeply human aspect. Along with the strings and clothing elements they effectively convey a quiet unraveling. The character's world (either inner or outer) seems to be coming undone, and it could be a falling out of balance or a sort of liberation (or both). It's obvious this is a personal piece for the artist, but it's open enough to also allow the viewer to bring their own interpretation since it's anything but static.

The other painting to which this one is linked has elements that seem more binding, and so serves as a sort of counterpoint to this one. I do think they would make a powerful diptych - despite potentially jarring color differences - because they go so strongly together in terms of balance and mood.

Price?

Absolutely incredible! And I saw the relation with your hauntingly beautiful Pas d'Ange the very first time I saw it. I would love to see both side by side and hear you elaborate more on their connection. Brilliant as usual man!

great work!!

This is very lovely and well done.

This is really amazing

very good painting.

Having been away from DA for a while, I only just saw this. So perfectly matches a song that caught my ear last summer - Laura Marling's 'Your Only Doll' - [link]

Gorgeous work, as ever.

Nora from Ibsen's A Doll's House?
I love it, thanks for creating and sharing this.

This is so lovely. I love the pose.

sweet job

She looks like she is a beautiful puppet suddenly finding herself as a girl (: this is gorgeous.

I like the feeling of freedom this painting provides. It is highly symbolic of life itself, because we are all basically puppets dangling on the strings of others. This is mostly because we allow it without knowing it. That's what I see in this painting.

Gorgeous. Really beautiful.

So many things I like about this painting - the delicate gesture of her hands, the gauzy material of her dress and the way it seems to be falling off of her. So many intriguing things.

Well where to start....

first off the setting ... the incomplete drapery is somewhat sad but also introspective of some event that may have occurred in the space depicted... also the walls are slightly discoloured and which only adds to the appeal. He wooden floor and the weed growing on the floorboards is evident that the set is of a certain age.


as for the model herself the broken strings are evident of a recent struggle to break free which may have resulted in the set and attire being as is

Conceptually as far as my opinion goes the painting symbolizes every human soul's struggle to break free of ties and bindings and to exercise their own free will and also of the losses and hardships faced during this struggle

all in all ... A piece I'm glad to have witnessed

She was turned into a doll? Or is she turning back into a human girl, she used to be?