Bard in the Iron Engine

An oil painting of a bard seated in the cab of a steam locomotive, warm amber light spilling over brass gauges and riveted iron panels. The bard wears a velvet waistcoat and a feathered hat, a lute resting on his knee as he plucks a melody and studies a sheet of music. Steam curls around pipes and pistons; the coal-fired firebox glows, casting a golden glow on soot-streaked walls. Thick painterly brushstrokes in rich ochres, sepias, and brass highlights create a dreamy steampunk atmosphere. Inside the cabin are gears, levers, and gauges; a window reveals a blurred, smokey railway landscape rushing by. A timeless, fantastical moment where music meets machine, captured in cinematic oil-painting texture.