Bolton's handsome characters are metaphorically trapped between two worlds: the ideal world of their own creation and the existing reality they inhabit. After graduating from RMIT in 1972 and winning The Myer Award for Illustration, Dayle Bolton worked as a freelance illustrator for major national and International retailers and magazines. Notably in London in the 1970's her illustrations in Vogue featured as full-page advertisements in the press, many of which were later sold as limited editions prints. Back in Australia the artist was selected as a finalist in the Alice Bale Portraiture Prize in 1992. Now painting full time, Bolton's work embodies the maturity of her experience in alternate design fields. These theatrically composed works transport the viewer on a journey to explore the profane and witness a mythology they have uniquely created. Probing and haunting they engage us vicariously in their dual theatrical experience of life. We wonder, are they aware of something we don't know? Intriguingly they tempt us with their wisdom. (Amanda Walsh Ph.D Melbourne University)