At the dressing table

At the Dressing Table is an 11×14″ oil painting on canvas, part of a series of figurative works I painted during a quieter season of the year. I often return to these types of scenes during the winter months—when the skies go grey and I find myself more often indoors, drawn to the quiet rhythm of stillness, light, and form.

This piece captures a fleeting, familiar moment: a woman seated at her dressing table, lost in a thought or a memory. Her back is turned to the viewer, a subtle posture that keeps her mystery intact. The palette is rich and earthy, with muted ochres, soft shadows, and touches of lavender and rose bringing warmth and intimacy to the composition.

There’s a kind of reverence here—not for vanity, but for ritual. The ordinary act of brushing one’s hair, adjusting a necklace, or pausing for a breath becomes, for a moment, a small ceremony of being. In that sense, At the Dressing Table is less about the subject and more about the space she creates around herself—the stillness, the glow, the pause.

Like many of my figurative works, this painting isn’t trying to tell a grand story or carry a heavy metaphor. It’s a quiet image. Something beautiful to look at. Something that invites reflection without demanding it.