Talon Chandelier, gris

Two colossal trunks rise from the lower edge and split into a broad, almost architectural lattice of limbs, with the roosting birds strung along the upper boughs so the eye travels from left to right before landing on the lone sentinel perched against the moon, just right of centre. From a distance the picture becomes a bold graphic of interlocking silhouettes against open sky, almost like a woodcut; at close range you pick out the smooth, creased bark, the hooked profiles and folded wings of each bird, and a delicate web of twigs. Contrast is strong but the sky itself is soft and veiled, so daylight keeps the scene crisp, while evening lamplight lets the moon become a luminous centrepiece as the branches recede into shadow. Heavy forms at the base ground the wall and the branching upper half opens it out, giving a long dining wall or study a sense of height and generous breadth. Dark-stained oak or walnut, aged brass candlesticks, wrought iron, smoked glass and deep velvet chairs build a theatrical gothic table, while leather and stacked books suit a study. It works best as a single feature wall facing the table or behind a desk, with the moon placed where it greets you on entering. Each mural is printed to your precise wall measurements, so the moon and its sentinel land exactly where the eye falls.