Other work that was completed yesterday (and a bit from before that) is the background around Argo, Cetus, and Virgo. The guidelines are centered on Hamal, the brightest star of the Aries constellation. Aries is Arianna's zodiac sign and I just could figure out how to work a ram into the aquatic theme that was going on in that section of the mural.

The consolation was to create ram's head arches around the windows, and give a little extra emphasis to the Aries constellation. Plan is to apply base paint and then cut my template apart and draw in each of the pieces for outlines. In theory, by using a template they should all turn out identical. Assuming I don't find a way to mess it up.

Long day today but I got much needed work done. Some house cleaning (which never ends) and work on Arianna's mural were highlights. Fairies are done, castle is almost done. I pulled the tape off so I can start the borders.

Brian Froud is a huge inspiration for my fairy paintings. All of the fae have been inspired from his sketches and I've tried to add little touches that make them mine. Like in Madeline's room I wanted a touch of music added to the mural. In the window the little guy is playing a fae guitar and the girl fairy is dancing to his music. Because it is night time they needed a little lamp to illuminate their dalliance. Girl Fairy's dress was painted to correlate to the phoenix that will be painted on the other wall.

The castle is nearly completed (still need to work out the stained glass window design). Painting this castle has been a real challenge. I have no idea what direction the light needs to be coming from. Typically objects in the night get darker as they recede into the background, but atmosphere can make objects appear lighter. There are multiple light sources with the moon, torches, and windows. I'm hoping that my choices make sense and the castle looks as if it is sitting on a bluff at night.