To be on height! Portrait of Alina Petrovskaya

A dancer in a sheer pink-white tutu and pointe shoes sits sideways in an open window, knees drawn up and hands clasped around her ankles, her profile turned toward the view; beyond the glass, sunlit rooftops, chimneys and a distant colonnaded building recede into pale haze, with heavy curtains framing the window on either side.

A restrained palette of soft greys, dusty pink and cream is handled with fine, blended pastel strokes, giving the tulle skirt and pale light a delicate, almost translucent softness; the contrast between the shadowed interior and the bright cityscape outside creates a quiet, reflective stillness around the resting figure.