The Year Long Project Like all homeowners, a house requires a continuous round of home improvement projects. But, the most significant project took place in our formal living room. Personal friend and artist, Eve Chenu, brought a dream to reality by painting a Japanese silkscreen mural within four large picture framed panels across one wall. A great deal of work went into this effort over the course of one year. Research, brain storming, discussions, and more research, all led to the concept and design of a prototype mural. The second step was to select a color pallet based on the color theme throughout our home. Then the actual work began. Each 8 ft. by 2 ¾ ft. panel, separated by 6 inches of wall space, had to be floated, to remove the original wall texture. Eve created a grid with blue chalk lines to properly align the objects within each panel. With only a pencil, she drew the continuous theme from left to right, within each panel. The first thing to be painted was the background, probably the most difficult and time-consuming. Four layers of different colors were applied to depict a truly antique gold background. As a result of the few hours of painting once a week, slowly over time, line drawings were brought to life. For me, coming home each week after Eve's work session, was just like Christmas. I couldn't wait to walk in and see the newest images take shape. Water and rocks, birds and turtles, plants and trees, all turned a once plain wall into a living Japanese landscape. The year long project now completed, the 8 foot ladder, boxes of paint, and huge drop cloth that had become permanent fixtures in our living room, were finally removed. Thanks to Eve's talented artistry, we can enjoy this permanent one-of-a-kind work of art. Eve Chenu currently resides in Austin, Texas. Check out her personal web page at: www.evechenu.com