Milky Way Over Hopi House

Of all the western national parks, Grand Canyon offers the greatest inspiration for contemplation of vastness of space and time. Here we see Mary Colter's Hopi House representing Grand Canyon's rich cultural history with Jupiter glowing golden in the sky above Sagittarius shaped like a pouring teapot with steam rising from the spout. That "steam" is the core of our home galaxy, the Milky Way and appears to ascend up to Altair, the center of three brighter stars in the upper left corner of the painting. Altair represents the eye of the Eagle in Aquila. To simulate the luminous and shimmering glow of stars I painted each star in multiple steps and glazed the sky multiple times over the course of several months. The stars are painted accurately with respect to their positions, color and relative magnitude in order to create not just a feeling for the magical night time experience but an actual portrait of the sky over Hopi House.