As part of the £75 million Trafford Centre redevelopment, in 2018 I was commissioned along with Nick Boulter to paint all 30 murals in the new extension. For the main dome mural, the brief was to produce a centrepiece for the main dome along a Roman Gods theme. I was given a list of the Gods to be included – I think I just added Vulcan, as he was husband to Venus and the interaction of the two was a nice dynamic in the painting. All the gods were adapted from classical paintings and worked into an overall composition. I had to be careful to get the lighting of the scene correct and also to keep the general style of the painting consistent. Perspective was also critical, as all the figures need to be seen from below. The painting was completed in my studio on two canvases, which we spliced onto the ceiling using a “double cut” method to give a seamless join. The mural’s location is around 35 metres above the floor below.
