World Map on Canvas

How do you fill a giant blank wall?  That’s a dilemma for lots of folks living in larger homes.  But it lead to a really cool project for me, when I was asked to paint a giant World Map on Canvas.  In order to make it substantial enough to fill at least 8′ X 4′, we decided to spread it out over four canvases…each measuring 24″ x 48″.  This quadtych art came out great, so thought I’d post a few pics showing you how it all came together.

Because the canvases were so large, the only way I could work on them, was to hang them on a wall myself.  The only problem?  I don’t have a giant blank wall in my house.  So, I ended up hanging them in my garage and painting them there.  

After penciling in the map, which took longer than I care to admit…I began filling in the masses of land, using a small brush to follow all the detail.

This tan colored paint is “Drumskin” by Valspar.

I then started painting the water a dark brown.  The color is called “English Tea”, also by Valspar.

What ever it is I’m doing with my mouth reminds me of what my brother does when he plays the guitar. I think it boosts concentration. Lol.

I had no idea how many islands there were on this planet of ours, until I started this tedious project.  At this point I was thinking, “I wonder if anybody would notice if I left out the Philippines or Papua New Guinea?”  But I’m kind of a perfectionist, so I pressed on….eventually finishing the whole earth…(minus the North and South Poles, anyway).

 I decided to paint the sides of the canvases too, so the image would look cohesive no matter which angle you look at it from.

I always love when people send me pictures of something I’ve painted for them, so I get to see how it’s used or viewed daily once in its home.  After getting these pictures of the World Map on Canvas, I was on top of the world!