Description

Dream Bird (Allegorical Artwork)

Dream Bird is an allegorical artwork from a dream that I had. It is a kind of self-portrait. Of the the back of my head! A huge Cape Bulbul stares at me (and the viewer) from a windowsill. The bird is clearly a harbinger of some kind.

The idea for this painting began after waking up from a dream and recording the image in my sketchbook with brown nut ink. I then did this oil on panel painting based on the sketch.

The original sketch had the sea in the distant background, which for some reason I changed to a landscape with mountains and a road leading somewhere.

The clouds were created by many interesting layers of scumbled paint, which produced fascinating hues and effects. If you view the close up, you’ll see the amazing textures due to the large pigment particle size, which refracts the light.

I used only my own hand-made oil paint and my own refined linseed oil. I used umber, red and yellow ochre collected from the Karoo, carbon and bone blacks, as well as bronzite yellow, chalk, and titanium dioxide white all of which I ground myself.

See more Allegorical Artwork.

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Damian Osborne

Damian Osborne is a fine artist from Cape Town, South Africa. Taking inspiration from the Old Master traditions, from nature, and from the people around him (especially his wife), he tries to push beyond the mediocre and aim for mastery in his paintings.

Latest posts by Damian Osborne (see all)

• What’s the Point of Creating When No One Cares? - 24th August 2025
• Fantasia No.6 in G minor (The Cockatrice) - 3rd May 2025
• Rebirth: Starting Over as an Artist — Part 1 - 17th April 2025