18 x 30, acrylics reverse-painted on glass

I always like including elements like portals, gates, stairways, bridges, anything that allows subjects (and viewers) to cross into another place, time, or way of thinking. This is a fairly complex piece, as reverse-painted images go, at least for me, but I painted several versions of it, because I enjoyed it so much.

Note on reverse-paint technique: I used to paint up to 200 of these a year, mostly in two 3-week bursts in spring and summer. The technique is problematic, frustrating, and takes experience. I use light-fast colors, but most are at least semi-transparent. I paint the silhouettes by hand, then layer the rest mostly with the airbrush, working my way back into the distance of the image. I normally only use masking for moons/planets. Every color changes everything in front of it to one extent or another. I usually don't check the progress, but only turn it over when it's done. Moment of truth! These are hard to photograph, but they like being able to crank out a concept fast. Which is what the reverse-painted pieces are to me, fast concept art. There is little or no chance to correct any errors, so I blast through it and hope for the best...