This cloth is 23 feet wide by 9 feet high. Because I could not get back far enough to photograph the whole cloth in one go, you will see I have stitched two photos together. I could have improved that join, using my graphics program, but have deliberately left it - otherwise where does my scenery painting end and my graphics computer wizardry take over?

My brief for the above cloth was a general view over "Oliver's" London which can be used as the backdrop to several scenes. Of course I had to have some familiar landmarks in it, otherwise it would have not been London. (Was tempted to put the London Eye in the distance but resisted). I painted an 1800's London sky with yellow and grays. The clouds were mainly done by dipping a broken sponge in several colours at the same time and dabbing at the canvas. Once all the main elements were painted in place I then went over the buildings I wanted to merge into the background and put a layer of white "mist" over them using a very dry five inch brush and wiping off the excess with a dry sponge. I then, of course, had to go over the foreground buildings again to strengthen them and "bring them forward" again. (This is a processed I also used on the "Paddington Green" backcloth which comes in a few pages time)

Tall and more prominent buildings to right and left to, hopefully, lead the eye into the centre.
There's a two foot high rostrum to run right along below this cloth.