Last week I finished the first of two paintings that I am creating for the Boston Children's Museum A-Z Exhibition in honor of their 100th Anniversary (my letter is "M is for Meteorite"). This painting is of Nebula NGC 5189, and is inspired by the Hubble Space Telescope image of the same Nebula. Although the painting has many similarities to the Hubble image, I really hope to the evoke a feeling taken from the image rather then make an exact replica. This painting took longer that I expected, possibly around a hundred working hours... but I am extremely happy with the end result. I would say to move from initial drawing to finished product in just under two months is pretty good (with lots of teaching at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in between).
I ordered the stretcher bars yesterday, but it will take a few days to arrive. I have also started working on my second painting for the BCM. It is more child friendly and will include Earth, our Moon, the Sun, and part of the Milky Way Galaxy (I will post some pictures later). My studio is too small to work on the new painting, and stretch NGC 5189 at the same time. I will wait until both are finished and then stretch away!!
Initial drawing of NGC 5189.
NGC 5189
Colored Glitter and Acrylic Gel Medium on Canvas
64 x 58 inches
2013