Exercising my creative muscle...

Even though I am here in Germany in a job that has little to do with my "occupation", that doesn't mean that my creative side is being neglected.  Quite the contrary, in my first month here, I have planned out and completed a design on a huge blank wall in my room.  Here is the process, in all its stages.

my blank slate (with a fresh, white base coat):

The concept:  a chestnut tree silhouette (a very common, traditional tree here) that I traced in Illustrator, and then I played with the colors/width/placement of the stripes and tree until I found something I liked:

My stripes measured out and taped off (can I just say...I love the metric system! So easy...no weird half or quarter measurements):

After sketching out my tree and buying my key turquoise paint, the painting FINALLY begins:

With a little mixing, I have my two different shades of turquoise.  The tape is ready to be removed:

The next day, sans tape, and after retouching the tree in white:

Finally, my cozy coffee corner, in the cool shade of a chestnut tree: