Ellen Phelan

In Bank III, Ellen Phelan uses black gouache to render an ambiguous figure. Phelan frequently includes dolls and toys in her work, and here the conical hat suggests a clown figurine. She kept the edges of the figure soft, making it appear to dissipate into the paper, and complemented this tonal variation with an asymmetrical background that is darker on the right, resulting in a somewhat haunting image with great optical depth. Phelan’s technique suggests how wash and layering can suggest psychological presence in a supposedly inanimate object.