Ophelia (art) - digital painting of a doll by Barbara Agreste

oil painting

Geremiah

geremiah-child-face-oil-painting-on-canvas-art-barbara-agreste

oil on canvas
100 x 85  cm
2011

Geremiah

Geremiah. This particular face belongs to my son Geremiah when he was a child. He has now grown into a beautiful adult, and I thank the Gods for it, but the only things that remain to me, to remind me of his childhood and the lovely appearance of his angelic face of innocence, is in two paintings I made of him: this one (oil on canvas) titled “Geremiah”, and another

Continue reading

Fairy Doll


Oil painting of a doll as Fairy, from the Ophelia series by Barbara Agreste.

Fairy Doll (Ophelia Series)
90 x90 cm
Oil on canvas

Fairy Doll

Ghost

Ghost, Painting of a Doll from the Ophelia Pop surrealism series by Barbara Agreste

oil on canvas
80 x 60 cm
2012

Ghost

Doll Snakes

Doll Snakes, Painting of a Doll with Snakes on her Head. Oil on canvas by Barbara Agreste.

oil on canvas
110 x 110  cm
2011

Doll Snakes

Ophelia’s Pond

……

Ophelia’s Pond

ophelia-pond

oil on canvas
120 x 90  cm
2011

Ophelia’s Pond

Earth


Earth is a painting of a doll on the floor, from "The catharsis of Ophelia" series, oil on canvas by Barbara Agreste.

oil on canvas
90 x 84 cm
2011

Earth

 This painting is about the earth. It is so because the earth is the place that welcomes all of us when we are unable to stand, or walk. When we have a problem with our balance, the earth is there to protect us, and will guide us through the recovery of our right senses, and of our conscious life.

When I made this painting I was excited about the outcome of the doll’s body, it was an incredible discovery that I could render the lights, and shadows of the feet, legs and trunk so well, so naturally, with no need to make things perfect, and with just a few brush strokes, things would come out so plausible. I decided then to make the face, and it hasn’t turned out to be so convincing.

But I did not want to change it, because I thought perfection in  this case was not needed: we have the face of a puppet, and the atmosphere of this painting is uncanny, wants to be sinister. Therefore why to make the doll’s face more human?

The message is one of “transformation of pain”, “transfiguration”, so even if the nose wouldn’t return a mathematical perfection in its lightings, I left the features distorted intentionally, so the sensation that some sort of unstable dream is going on stays with the viewer.

I wanted to create the flashback of a dream: the picture is like a film frame that would pass, like a lightning strike,  trough the length of the film, a sudden opening of light into the unconscious mind of the viewer/author/protagonist.

This earth painting is one of a series of paintings that represent the concept of ground as an important resource of reconstitution. It is the ever resting place for the body: in my imaging a ground not very detailed, rather blank and anonymous, but yet still very present and important for understanding the transitional state of the Nigredo.

Earth

Black Bough Doll

Painting - portrait of a Doll from "The Catharsis of Ophelia" series, art by Barbara Agreste.

oil on canvas
77 x 51 cm
2011

Black Bough Doll

Ophelia Catharsis

Ophelia Catharsis and Nigredo, the Catarsis is here an Alchemical phase of purification...

oil on canvas
77 x 51 cm
2011

Go to writing about Ophelia.

Ophelia Catharsis

Evil

Evil is a painting of a woman's face with evil eyes... Oil on canvas by Barbara Agreste.

oil on canvas
47 x 61 cm
2011

Evil

Join Barbara Agreste on Facebook
Dolls - Ophelia (art, paintings) series by Barbara Agreste