Dream Lover

Oil on Board

Moran Portraiture Prize Entrant 2018

This is one of my favourite paintings because it was inspired by two things that touch my heart; family and love. Yet again, my soft and beautiful daughter was the subject. Every soul longs to be loved and this desire was most evident to me in Laura.

In this painting Laura sleeps and dreams of love. The morning sun begins to rise and so it kisses her cheek. It is that time of morning between sleep and awake where dreams are had. I painted the Swan, also a symbol of love, to mimic the inner beauty of Laura’s romantic heart. As it encompasses her she wonders, if her dream is real, or not? The Swan appears so real but then it fades into the form of the veil. The translucent ribbon flows through the painting to pose the question of reality again. Just when she thinks it was just a dream the end of the ribbon forms a single feather.

Ever a romantic, I had to have a conclusion. Emerging from the morning light; a new day, I painted a solitary spark shooting towards Laura and the Swan. It is the spark that ignites the hope of finding true love.