Here's the best I could do to get the whole thing in one shot. It looks much better in person (if I do say so myself :-)
Still want to work on the sky a bit more, but I'm going to go ahead and put a coat of poly on to protect whats been done.

Don't forget to add some dead/dying leaves when working on foliage, it adds a lot of realism to the work.

Have to quit early today...will unroll the canvas and begin the constellations tomorrow. I'm also not lovin the bamboo on the right....too skimpy, will work it up tomorrow.

Overly optimistic. I got a late start today, it takes a lot of juggling to work around a family, so not as much done as I had hoped.
Theres another foot or so of sky done above what you see here, with another 3-4 feet that will be done above that....and the sky that you do see here is actually darker than its showing....theres a lamp shining on it causing a glare. Look to the left to see how dark it really is.
The bamboo is started, but still not finished......tomorrow.Above the palm tree is the beginning of the really dark sky that will hold planets, stars and galaxies. Some stars will actually start lower, adjacent to the palm tree.

Finally ready to move up to the sky. Made some subtle changes....added a few things.....a weeping willow to the right, I darkened the leaves on the bamboo remembering it wasn't bright enough (outside) for the leaves to be as pale/bright as they were......added some bamboo in the foreground on the right, changed the color of the mountains (I wasn't loving all the purple so I toned it down with a deep green).
Filling in the rest of the sky should be a simple task, then I'll top off the bamboo and palm tree and finally work on the constellations.

I'm finally beginning to feel like I'm getting this done. I'm thinking I may be done by the end of the week. (The colors here aren't showing as bright as they really are.)

I'm finally done with the lilies and lotus flowers and I'm concentrating now on the bamboo as well as the rest of the landscape which includes the bamboo on both sides, some foliage and the palm tree......that should be finished tomorrow, and then I only have the sky/clouds and constellations to do. Wait till you see the constellations.....I'm so excited. I love having a large project like this to get lost in......just focus on the art.....the day goes by in fifteen minutes I swear.

Wasn't sure I wanted to post this picture, so much is going to change. Most artists don't like to show unfinished work and I'm no exception :-), but its a way to learn from whats done right as well as from mistakes.
I was still working on the sky this morning when I decided to lay out some of the foreground scenery so I'd know exactly how much of the sky was actually going to need my attention......sunsets/sunrises are not easy to do. You can see I started laying in the bamboo that the client requested....its actually a blue bamboo (not what you see here yet, this is just a quick layout).....and you can see the trunk of a palm tree peeking through the bamboo. I'll also be adding similar foliage on the other side but set back further with a smaller scale to help with the depth perception.I also still have to finish the lilies/lotus, I want to put a couple of seed pods from the lotus in too.
The sky will start to darken soon and I'll be using some deeper pinks, turning to purples and deep blues as I go up, which will then turn into a midnight sky with constellations.

Here's the finished mural I was working on last week.... in place. Professional Faux Finisher (and muralist in training) Randy Keller did the installation and the faux stone work around the mural.

HAD TO SHARE THIS...

Yesterday I was perusing the internet looking for video cameras......I'm thinking of doing some new instructional videos when I get back home, and I want to improve the quality of them.
Anyway while searching I came across this really cool little..and I mean little!.....projector and had to share it with you all.
Go check it out... http://www.aiptek.com
You hold this in your hand people!
It projects up to 42" wide, and it also hooks up to your computer if you want to display something from your screen onto a wall(for example). I'm thinking how cool to use this on job sites for projecting smaller images rather than lugging around my big projector....no more $30 packets of transparency film! Its about three hundred bucks. I see a new toy in my future :-)

My friend Linda (where I'm staying while working in Florida) is not only generous to her human friends ....... every morning she puts out a handful of cat food for a neighborhood stray...... little does she know where its really going. I caught this shot this morning.I finally started working on the sky yesterday and there's a reason I'm only showing part of it here......I'm probably going to redo it. To me its more reminiscent of a sunset than a sunrise(requested by the client), so I want to rework it a bit. I want it to be perfect. This is going in a 30 million dollar home folks, it needs to be perfect.
Its the weekend and I think I'm going to spend it thrift shopping, one of my favorite past times. Linda's boys are here plus one of their friends and since their computer games are in the room I'm painting in........ well, lets justs say its futile to try and work in there. Its ok though, its good to take a break from your work so you can see it with fresh eyes.

I saw something this morning that made me think more than twice, a quote by Degas. I'm always saying paint what you see, not what you think, and I do think thats true when you're learning to see shapes and colors etc.
But now I also believe this to be true....a quote from Degas:
"The artist does not draw what he sees, but what he must make others see." Edgar Degas
I love that!

Still no sunset :-) Getting my second installment check for the elevator mural project was delayed, and as I was out of funds I was fortunate to be offered a quick commission (project seen below).Now with the financial pressure off I will get back to the elevator mural.