I added a few details this morning and then varnished the whole of it. There was quite a large area to cover.

It has been a really positive experience . I ‘ve learned a lot of things including explaining myself with confidence.

It started with an idea from the clients which I drew several versions of until we agreed on one.

I had painted all the subjects to be included in it before ,but the challenge was to arrange everything so that it fitted together on a large surface. A large corrugated surface. ( that wasn’t actually a problem apart from a slight difficulty drawing horizontal lines. )

I was undoubtedly nervous to start with as I often am at the beginning of a project. But after a sleepless night and the rough sketch of the first day it has been a challenging joy to do.

It must have been a bit stressful for the clients to watch me draw and redraw and generally muck about the first day. When I work at home there is no one to see my first rough work.

By the second day , where I finished a few little things just to see how it was going to look it got exciting. I even dreamed I was painting at night.

It was quite hard work physically as it was often very hot and the sun reflected off the white shed wall. I had a straw hat , but after the second day tried not to wear my sunglasses as they made everything look reddish.

However that all added to the experience. And gradually the painting took over in a very satisfactory manner . I had photos as reference but that is all they were as a lot of the mural was put together as if by magic.

I am most pleased with the calanche . They look convincing but are almost abstract.

Without going on and on and on I had a wonderful time painting this. I did things I didn’t know I could do and and surprised and impressed myself. It was a brilliant adventure.

There is no doubt in my mind that this was made possible by the unfailing encouragement from the lovely people who were employing me to do this and that between us we’ ve created something special.

Apart from everything else it has been a treat to be out in the countryside in beautiful surroundings, with sunshine and friendly cats.

I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to do something different. . It’s a good feeling to have created something to be proud of.

I think I’ll open a bottle of good wine tonight to celebrate not just a painting , but a “Bella esperienza .”

Cheers 🍷🍷