This was very challenging. Two purposes for this mural - to hide the hideous back door, and the steps going down and to add some décor to the studio. The idea of what to paint sometimes comes from the structure itself. The owner wanted the company name and logo on the wall above so that was painted. In looking at it, it was just hanging there in midair, to a muralist that is just not right. The owner wanted a scene where his ballroom dance studio felt like being in a mansion terrace overlooking the ocean. With that in mind the image of what to paint appears and the different walls and structure only helps in formulating the design. It took many hours of measuring and building the mural so that the trompe l'oeil creating the illusion of depth and distance was achieved. The other challenge was where do I stop? Sometimes to accent your mural you have to take care of surrounding areas that are left unpainted or are in the way to the point of making your mural not look complete. This is what happened to a cubby space area way above the mural where it was left blank, but could still be seen from below, I had to climb up in there and continue the scene. I also did that with space behind the wall going down the stairs. I also designed an emblem for the dance studio, which will be used in other areas of the room. I faux finished the columns in marble and varnished the marble and ocean only. All other paint was flat.