Skylight with Overhanging Trees

This was a wonderful project contrasting the rigid geometry of the painted skylight with the colorful and organic nature of the sky and trees. The wall of the tray ceiling was the opportunity to include a grisaille acanthus decoration.

The most difficult part of this painting was maintaining the rigid geometry with all lines being aligned correctly. Observers of the ceiling can stand on a second-story area and look down the length of the lines of the skylight. If they are crooked, it is apparent., so it had to be carefully drawn correctly.

A variety of trees were used to overhang the skylight. An apple tree, a blue spruce, walnut, copper beech and fir are included in the painting.

With all my work, I seek to explore something new or experimental. In this painting, I added beveled glass panes by painting refracted edges.

The painting is finished with the Trompe L’oeil bas relief acanthus leaf design repeated around the perimeter wall of the tray ceiling.