When I started painting this, I primarily just wanted to practice perspective, so I set up some perspective lines and started sketching some basic architectural shapes, not really having much of a plan. Once I’d gotten more of the sketch down, I realized this was starting to look a bit like some kind of temple courtyard, so I went with that idea—and I ended up with something that resembles elements from a lot of dreams I’ve had (or maybe memories of dreams triggered by seeing certain things in real life): smooth white walls lit by strong sunlight, casting angled shadows; a bright, deep blue sky with tall cumulus clouds also lit by that same strong sunlight so that they almost look like solid structures in the sky rather than wispy bits of water vapor; the bright glare of the sun on shining metal, and the light bleed from the sun reflecting so strongly on the bright white walls that the shadows have a kind of warm orange halo at the edges; and these large, kind of liminal spaces that are empty and devoid of any signs of human life, yet still feel alive and peaceful and wonderful.

I’ve come up with a rough story idea for what these ruins are, who built them, why, and what happened, and I really want to explore this setting more. Honestly, I kind of just want to live here….