A Nutcracker prince in a red-and-gold uniform and a ballerina in a layered ivory tutu share a graceful pas de deux on a softly reflective stage, their raised hands joined high above them.

Behind them rise towering dark evergreen trees threaded with strings of fairy lights, their glow dissolving into soft peach bokeh. Warm light catches the dancers' costumes against deep forest shadows.

The scene is painted in thick, expressive impasto oil, with visible palette-knife strokes and flicked white highlights. The result is romantic, theatrical and quietly nostalgic.