These are some of my recent allegorical realism paintings, painted mostly from imagination. I often use myself as model too.
These paintings were done with my own hand-ground oil paint and my own sun-refined linseed oil, using pigments from burnt bones, ochres, earths and stones I find, and various gemstones like lapis lazuli or chrysocolla.
Click on an image to view larger file size.
Lilith of the Shadow Wood by Damian Osborne, oil on canvas panel, 61 x 40 cm, 2024. I painted this dream-like scene of a nude woman standing in a dark pool with snakes surrounding her. This allegorical realism painting was done completely with my own hand-made pigments. Snakes in water are a common theme in my dreams, probably representing the deep unconscious.
US$550 or R9800.
Lilith and Serpents, mixed media in sketchbook, Damian Osborne, 2020. I often do my mock ups or sketch out ideas in my sketchbook. 99% of my drawings or ideas never make it to the actual painting stage due to lack of time or lack of enough canvases!
Aengus of the Birds by Damian Osborne, oil on panel, 20 x 20 cm, 2024. This oil painting was done from imagination and from a drawing from a live model. I have been wanting to do a series of the old Celtic myth of Aengus of the Birds for many years based off many dreams I’ve had.
US$200 or R3500.
Dream Bird by Damian Osborne, oil on board, 61 x 46 cm, 2021. A self-portrait of the back of my head as I look out of a huge window where a massive Bulbul stares alertly. This was from a dream I had. All painted with my own hand-made oil paint and my own refined linseed oil. The painting has a lovely texture due to the large pigment particle size, which refracts the light. I used umbers and ochres collected from the Karoo, and carbon blacks.
US$550 or R9800.
Lady of Gentleness by Damian Osborne, oil on linen canvas, 38 x 46 cm, 2024. The inspiration came from a sculpture by Sir Charles Wheeler (c.1913). I painted this from imagination using only my own pigments made by hand.
US$350 or R6200.
What are allegorical realism paintings?
Allegorical realism paintings are a form of representational painting (i.e. not abstract), that contain some kind of allegory or deeper meaning. In my allegorical realism paintings, which has become the main focus of my art, I am very much inspired by my own dreams and messages from the unconscious.
There are always deeper levels that the unconscious will take you. Some of those deeper levels should be regarded with respect and treated cautiously. The unconscious speaks to us in allegory, especially through dreams.
Tongues of Fire by Damian Osborne, oil on board, 60.5 x 43 cm, 2024. An allegorical realism painting of a naked woman with her head on fire. This oil painting was from a dream I had and represents the Shekinah or feminine aspect of God. It also represents the Archangel Uriel, the Flame of God. Uriel is also called the Great Angel of the Supernal Light. This painting was done completely with my own hand-refined linseed oil and grinding my own oil paints. US$550 or R9800.
Temperance by Damian Osborne, oil on canvas, 93 x 53 cm, 2023. A self-portrait with dark wings pouring out water from goblets and surrounded by birds and animals. This allegorical realism painting was done completely with my own hand-made paint and my own sun-refined linseed oil. Temperance is a Tarot card that has had special significance for me. All the animals and plant surrounding me are from real personal encounters living on our half a hectare plot of indigenous Eastern Cape forest. I have written a piece of music for this painting in F minor, which corresponds with the Temperance Tarot card. Fantasia No.1 in F minor (Temperance).
Sleeping Under the Stars by Damian Osborne, oil on canvas, 50 x 60 cm, 2024. I first used silverleaf on the background, then painted the sky and stars over it, so it has a lovely shimmery effect in the light. The stars almost twinkle. I used my own hand-made oil paints, so the painting has a lot of texture.
The Year of the Fool, oil on board, Damian Osborne, 2021. This self-portrait in oils felt like a turning point for me. I started the painting in 2020, which is actually the Year of the Fool, or the beginning of the Tarot journey. The occult number 2020 was symbolically important for the ‘elites’ who brought in Covid, 5G towers and the world wide lockdowns, essentially making fools of us all. It was the year of the incredible conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn which had lots of significance for our epoch and which I included in the painting. This allegorical realism painting was done completely with my own hand-mulled pigments and refined linseed oil.
Year of the Fool, conté in sketchbook, Damian Osborne, 2020
Desert Prayer by Damian Osborne, oil on canvas, 100 x 150 cm, 2024. A contemporary realism painting of my wife, Janine, standing in the vast desert landscape of the Namib Desert. She is Namibian by birth and this part of the desert is near Swakopmund, the oldest desert in the world. For this painting I used only my own hand-made oil paints. I collected brown ochre from the Swakop River, and magnetite from the surrounding desert dunes. I added desert dune sand to the paint to give a rougher texture to the paint which you can feel under your fingers. The sky is many layers of sodalite and lapis lazuli. The greens are from crysocolla. This one you should really click on to see the texture. I wrote a piece of music for this scene called Fantasia No.5 in F (Desert Prayer).
Late Morning in the Garden by Damian Osborne, oil on canvas, 36 x 46 cm, 2024. A plein air oil painting of our garden in the Eastern Cape with bougainvillea and the noisy Egyptian Geese flying overhead from the neighbour’s duckpond next door. The garden is half a hectare of indigenous forest. This oil painting was done with a mix of my own paint and artist grade Winsor & Newton magenta and green. While this doesn’t really fall under allegorical realism paintings, I included it here as one of my recent landscapes.
US$350 or R6200.
More Allegorical Realism Paintings done with my own handmade oil paints:
Horus and the Half-Moon, oil on panel, Damian Osborne, 20 x 20 cm, 2021. This oil painting I did with my own oil paints: graphite black and titanium white. You can see more about graphite black here. I was inspired by this very scene of a falcon sitting against the half moon while I was taking an early walk.
US$200 or R3500.
Dark Rider, oil on panel, Damian Osborne, 14 x 23 cm, 2021. An allegorical realism or fantasy painting I did with my own handmade oil paints using graphite black and titanium white. This was from a dream I had.
US$150 or R2600.
Crescent Moon and Mountain Nocturne, oil on panel, Damian Osborne, 20 x 23 cm, 2021. This scene made a very strong impression on me as I regarded the crescent moon hanging like a shining eyelash between the mountain buttresses one evening. It’s a little corner of wildness, this exposed section of the peninsula at the end of the mountain range, with incessant gale-force winds from the sea, slamming against the rock faces, and my back. The fynbos-covered slopes seem to dance in waves and ripples. Yet, juxtaposed above, the moon imparts an eternal calmness on the scene. Using only my own hand-made pigments and hand-refined linseed oil in the style of the Old Masters, one can get a diverse range of textures and viscosities unachievable with commercial, homogenously ‘buttery’ oil paints which contain waxes and fillers. I wrote a short blog about this painting.
US$200 or R3500.
Nigredo, self-portrait painting, oil on board, Damian Osborne, 2021. Another self-portrait oil painting done with my own oil paints, namely bone black and ochre. The stars are painted as they were during the Saturn/Jupiter conjunction in 2020 with a solar eclipse. The cross represents this convergence. Click on the painting to go to essay I wrote. I also wrote two blogs and videos about this painting.
Field of Egrets, Vine Charcoal in Sketchbook, Damian Osborne, 21 x 29 cm, 2022. A charcoal sketch from a dream I had about Janine. The charcoal I used was from my own calcined vine charcoal which I made myself. Read more..
Silver Monkey in a Golden Cage, Alchemical Dreams and Art, watercolour on paper, Damian Osborne, 2021. From another dream I had. This watercolour painting was done with my own handmade watercolour pigments, including sparkling haematite. Read more..
Luna, home-made ink and silverleaf on paper, Damian Osborne, 2020.
Memento Mori, oil on board, Damian Osborne, 2020. Painted with my own home-made pigments.
Memento Mori, charcoal in sketchbook with goldleaf, Damian Osborne, 2020.
Thanks for checking out my allegorical realism paintings. Please let me know if you’re interested in any of the paintings via my contact page.