Andromeda Galaxy | Oil on Canvas, 48x36 in
 
The Andromeda Galaxy, also called Messier 31 or M31, with two satellite galaxies, M32 and M110, is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way sitting approximately 2.5 million light years away from Earth. This bahemeth is home to some one trillion stars rotating around a giant black hole at the center of the galaxy, far more than the estimated 100 billion stars in our Milky Way galaxy. The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxy are ever so slowly, in galactic terms, moving towards one another at 68 miles per second and are expected to collide in around 4–5 billion years, merging to potentially form a giant elliptical galaxy. Fascinatingly, the Andromeda galaxy is visible to the naked eye from Earth, sitting close to the constellation Cassiopeia. 
 
Painting this giant was a massive undertaking. Though I could not paint all one trillion stars, this prized piece is home to more than 75,000 individually painted stars using photographic inspiration from ESA/Hubble. The authenticity of the placement of each star around the Andromeda galaxy is one aspect of the painting which makes it so unique.