Ashvin Harrison Australian, b. 1984
91.4 x 121.9 cm
Available for presale. Please note: this artwork will be exhibited during Ashvin Harrison’s solo show (Nov 29–Dec 7) and can be collected or shipped after the exhibition.
The Night Watch Owl is an original fine art painting by Ashvin Harrison, a contemplative vision of time, guardianship, and the fragile threads that bind humanity to the cosmos. In this mesmerising composition, Harrison fuses his masterful charcoal realism with vibrant expressive colour, unveiling an owl that is both sentinel of the night and keeper of universal truth.
The barn owl, drawn in lifelike monochrome, gazes directly at the viewer with a calm yet piercing stillness — an ancient wisdom residing in its eyes. Between its talons hangs a golden pocket watch, its hands paused at 11:11 — the symbol of alignment, awakening, and cosmic synchronicity. At its heart glows the Earth itself, reminding us that our world spins within the greater rhythm of time, watched over by unseen forces.
The owl’s wings erupt in a flood of ochre, teal, copper, and midnight splashes — paint cast outward in dynamic arcs, like sparks from acelestial fire. Each speck suggests galaxies, constellations, and the scattering of time across infinite dimensions. The colours do not confine the owl but release it — as though wisdom itself cannot be held, only witnessed in motion.
Together, the owl, the watch, and the Earth form a trinity of vision: wisdom, time, and the fragile blue planet we call home. The work speaks to cycles, guardianship, and the delicate balance between fleeting moments and eternal truths. Embodying Harrison’s evolving Motusrealism, The Night Watch Owl harmonises the precision of natural realism with the wild expression of cosmic emotion — a reminder that even in darkness, we are guided by light, time, and knowing.