nebula or galaxy?

I enjoy looking at the stars and there is nothing like a pitch dark country view of our universe. I even got to see the Milky Way in a clear night this summer. So majestic.

But I have to admit I have neither painted a galaxy nor gone to a sip-&-paint style class and I agreed to do both. Good learning opportunity though.

Turns out we most likely painted nebulae, which are clouds of gas found inside a galaxy. We looked at many pictures references and drew ideas from them.

the image reference

galaxy 1st attempt

turquoise nebula study

pink and purple nebula study

nebulae by the class

class member's nebula

demo painting, adding blacks

adding blue

lots more black and stars

more black and more stars

adding extra white to the stars

varnishing

Tips for trying this kind of painting:

• It worked well and saved time to start with a black canvas.

• Paint brushes were great for smaller details and to flick white diluted paint for big stars.

• A toothbrush was awesome for smaller stars and adding several layers of stars gave it depth.

• One of my favorite things to use was a spray bottle because it helped us achieved the soft cloud, cotton candy effect.

• Look at the clouds, they are a white and blue version nebula.

The universe is not outside of you, look inside yourself;
everything that you want you already are. - Rumi