Swaying  Palm, Ceiling Mural, 2005

The client had recently had a house built, wanted a mural painted on the cupola ceiling of the main bedroom, and gave me free rein in the matter of subject.

The cupola measured 2.85m in diameter, had  circumference of 10m, and a depth of 1.4m. The overall size of the room was only 3.5m, so I had also to think about finding an image that was not going to bear down onto a relatively small space.

Having given a lot of thought to what someone lying in bed might like to look and, having recently returned from a prolonged stay in Costa Rica while I was on a Residency there, decided that there could be nothing more relaxing than lying under a swaying palm tree.

It was a flawed decision I discovered as I grappled with the problems of getting the perspective of the tree trunk to look right from all angles of the room, and had to make many adjustments until it worked satisfactorily from all points of view. 

The surface was a coarse sgrafitto, which made it difficult to paint on, but it served well in the end, breaking up the paint and creating the effect of shimmering light. It was very challenging to paint on a concave surface overhead, especially on a rickety scaffolding that had no barriers and stood about 2.5 metres above the hard floor.

I used ordinary house emulsion for the work. 

Located in Chlorakas, Pafos, Cyprus.