Ballet is motion, and a painting cannot move. That is the problem every artist runs into when they try to paint a dancer, and it is the reason DawnE keeps returning to them. Three paintings in her ballerina series — Mysty, Rose and Crystal — each solve it a different way.
Mysty
Cool blues, and a dancer who is not performing. This is the rehearsal room at seven in the morning, before anyone is watching. There is a particular kind of stillness that only comes from repetition, and that is what the blues are doing here — they hold the quiet rather than the applause.
Rose
Warm where Mysty is cool. A pink tutu, a lowered gaze, and a face caught mid-thought. Pastel is a forgiving medium for skin and an unforgiving one for restraint, and Rose stays on the right side of it. The softness is in the colour; the feeling underneath is not soft at all.
Crystal
White, and almost entirely about posture. What looks effortless on a stage is the product of years of work, and Crystal is DawnE’s attempt to paint the years rather than the moment. The lightness is earned.
Together or apart
The three were painted as a set and they do speak to each other — cool, warm, and light, in that order, reads almost like a phrase of music. But each stands on its own, and most people who buy one buy the one whose mood matches the room it is going into.
All three are originals. Once one sells it is gone, though fine art prints are available.