Several iterations of this painting exist, the underlying source of inspiration for the series of midnight garden paintings is the Damascene ourtyard garden belonging to a relative.

In 'A Beautiful Dream,’ the geometric hexagram backbone which underpins the entire work, is celebrated and revealed in gold. Knowing I was painting a garden, I chose a hexagram for its strong association and appearance within flowers. 

Overlaid on the grid is a sprawling garden. Placed centrally is a fountain finished in gold. Surrounding the fountain is a flower meadow, the placement of each element decided by the hexagram. Sitting in each arm are flowering bushes and Cyprus trees. The flora is painted using a hand-crafted mix of Japanese Malachite, zinc and turquoise to create a luminous green that glows. Flowering bushes, painted in a style inspired by historic miniature paintings, nestle themselves around the trees. Grasses and rocks root the elements to the ground. 

The painting has four distinctive quadrants (upper, left, right and bottom) after the typical courtyard gardens of the Eastern world, It is painted on indigo paper to suggest evening. A time when the sun has cooled enough to enjoy sitting outside contemplating, a time when the glow of the moon can make the colours of the garden seem more magical. 

The title of the painting: 'A Beautiful Dream' has two meanings. It has been many years since I have been able to visit my beloved courtyard home. With time, the memory has muddied, becoming ever-more dreamlike, and the odes to the original garden have become more romanticised. Secondly, the work was manifested following the birth of my son, whose name translates to beauty. My newborn spent the majority of his early months asleep on my chest, consequently naming it after him.