My last project of 2012 was many things- unexpected, a challenge in several ways, really big, and an absolute blast! The client was referred to me by another client- love when that happens on a lengthy chain of referrals like this one. She wanted a starry night sky backdrop for her size-able Christmas village, and what we ended up with is so much more. Rather than just a once a year display, they now have a work of art to enjoy all year round.

At a total of ten feet long and four feet high, the entire work is impressively large. While I could have created a canvas that size, building, painting, finishing, delivering and installing it would have been next to impossible in the short amount of time we had before Christmas. A little research showed me that a combination of canvases adding up to the total dimensions could work, would fit in my car, be easier to finish, deliver, install and would look fabulous on the wall. The client agreed, and we were off and running!

I had a deadline to meet! In order to have enough room to work on the canvas I needed to set up a work area in the part of the basement generally used as both sewing area and guest room and my daughter was coming home for Christmas- the room would be needed shortly, I needed to have a plan, work hard, follow a schedule, get the painting delivered, and the room cleaned up before her arrival. No dilly-dallying. Fortunately, years of experience in painting wall murals on a self-imposed deadline has taught me how to schedule my time well. I knew it could be done.

Three canvases were needed to create the entire work, I inserted spacers between them and clamped them together securely from the back. I bought another artist’s easel to hold the huge canvas and supported the middle with a small sturdy table, made everything level and set to work laying in the composition and initial layers of paint.

A lot of people ask me if I draw everything out and work according to a plan, make a small painting first and work on a grid or something like that. I guess I could do that, but the truth is, I might put one or two sketchy ideas on the work in watercolor pencil, a dividing line between sky and earth, but that’s it. The rest I just paint and let what is already finished in my head come out of the brush and onto the surface. When it looks this good the first day, I feel a rush and I know that this is a God given gift.

I know how most of you enjoy the ‘work in progress’ photos, but I took those with my cell phone and posted them on my Facebook page as I went along this time, you can find them there if you ‘like’ my page.

You can’t tell here, but a sprinkling of glitter in the sky adds a bit of sparkle to the Milky Way.

I love painting sunsets and sunrises- the ethereal glow of the fading light, the reflection of color on snow-capped mountains, the purple of the shadows. A bit of artistic license was used here, in reality the landscape would be not nearly as well lit with the sky dark enough to see so many stars, but I love the result just the same- this one was hard to part with.

The canvases were separated for finishing, the edges painted in a dark brown glaze and the artwork varnished and dried before delivering to the client. We were able to prop it up behind the village for photos, and I love how it looks! I have plans to go back to help hang it more permanently at a later date, but I did meet my schedule, finished, delivered and the room completely cleaned up and put back with minutes to spare before my daughter’s plane landed.

What a great way to end the year!