"In painting the actress, Simone Kessell, Dalton has focused squarely on the figure but has made every detail count. By posing Kessell on a set of steps he has created a frame within a frame, which hints at the actor’s profession. The red thread that trails down the steps and passes through Kessell’s hands is the thread the Greek princess, Ariadne, gave Theseus to find his way out of the Labyrinth after he had slain the Minotaur. To play a role on stage or in a film is to enter a maze, from which every actor needs to find a path back to reality.

Even without reading Dalton’s artist statement, which explains the Ariadne reference, the painting obliges us to puzzle out the meaning of the thread, which in turn portrays the subject as a woman determined not to get lost in some unfamiliar locale, be it physical or psychological." - John McDonald