Awakened Dreams of the Moonlit Tree is a large-scale mixed media painting where layered female portraits dissolve into a dreamlike natural world. Human features intertwine with branches, flowers and animal forms, creating a composition in which the boundaries between figure and landscape become increasingly fluid.

Three female faces emerge at different depths within the composition, including one that appears to merge with the features of a panther. Often associated with power, independence, instinct and mystery, the panther introduces a more primal dimension to the portrait; its fusion with the female face can be read as an integration of the human and instinctive self. A second, full-bodied panther moves through the lower right, strengthening this connection between female portraiture and wildlife imagery. Above, a solitary tree rises over the figures as a flock of birds crosses the pale sky, while flowers, blossoms, leafy branches and root-like forms spread through the portraits.

The title Awakened Dreams of the Moonlit Tree brings together the seemingly opposing states of dreaming and waking, reflecting the painting’s shifting, almost surreal atmosphere. The pale moon merges with the upper female figure, further dissolving the boundary between the human body and the natural world. Often associated with intuition, dreams, the subconscious and cycles of transformation, its presence strengthens the title’s tension between dreaming and waking. Soft washes of sepia, umber, cream, dusty pink and pale blue allow faces, animals and vegetation to emerge and recede across the canvas. Through contemporary figurative art, female portraiture, wildlife imagery and nature-inspired abstraction, O’Connor creates a world suspended between the human, animal and natural realms.

Awakened Dreams of the Moonlit Tree is an original, one-of-one large-format mixed media painting on canvas, 152.5 × 152.5 cm, available through Eclectic Gallery, Fitzrovia, London. To enquire or arrange a private viewing, contact the gallery.