Star Valley is a landscape seen at night. It shows a rocky valley, a river, three waterfalls and a sky lit by aurora. Almost all of it is deep blue. We make it as a tapestry, so it is a picture meant to be large. This post looks at what is in it and how to use it.
What is in the picture
You are standing above a river, looking up a valley. In the middle distance, a broad waterfall drops over a rock shelf into a pool. The water runs towards you from there. In the foreground, on the left and on the right, two more falls pour off the dark cliffs in thin white streams and frame the view.
Beyond the falls, the land rises to a line of mountains, with one rounded peak near the centre. They are soft blue shapes against the sky.
The upper half of the picture is sky. It is very dark at the top and at the edges. In the centre, a ribbon of aurora twists upward from behind the mountains, in teal and sea green, like smoke. There are faint stars round it.
The colours are few. Navy and near-black in the rocks and the upper sky. A brighter blue in the water and the mountains. Pale blue-white in the falling water. Green only in the aurora. The grass on the cliffs at either side has a dark green tinge.
How the composition works
- It is symmetrical. A waterfall on each side, a third in the centre, the peak above it and the aurora above that. Symmetry makes a picture feel still and formal, almost like a stage set. See symmetry vs asymmetry.
- It has three layers. The dark cliffs in front, the lit pool and falls in the middle, and the mountains and sky behind. Each is paler than the one before. That is how a flat picture shows depth.
- The eye travels up. You begin at the river at the bottom, follow it to the central fall, go on to the peak and finish at the aurora. The whole picture is a path from the ground to the sky.
- The white water marks the way. The three falls are the lightest things in the lower half. They stand out like lamps.
- The dark edges hold it in. The corners fade to black, which keeps the attention in the centre.
The aurora
The northern lights are caused by charged particles from the Sun. They are guided by the Earth's magnetic field towards the poles, where they strike gases high in the atmosphere and make them glow. Oxygen gives the green that is seen most often. The lights form curtains, arcs and ribbons that shift and fold as you watch.
The aurora in Star Valley is the common green, in a rising ribbon, which is true to life. It is also the only thing in the picture that is not blue. A single contrasting colour in a one-colour picture draws the eye at once. Here it sits at the top, where the path through the picture ends.
People who have seen the aurora describe it as silent and very large. The picture has that quality.
Water and light
Waterfalls in art usually mean movement and noise. These don't. In the dark, drawn as thin pale lines, they are quiet. They look like the long-exposure photographs in which falling water turns to silk. That effect is restful, and it is a large part of why the piece is calm in spite of having three waterfalls in it.
The mood
Still, cold and remote. It is a place a long way from anywhere, late at night, with no one about. Some people find that lonely. Most find it peaceful. It is a picture for someone who likes the idea of being far from everything.
Where it works
- A bedroom. It is dark, cool and quiet, which is what a bedroom wants. As a tapestry, it is light and safe above a bed. See celestial tapestries for the bedroom and art over a bed.
- Behind a desk or a gaming setup. A dark tapestry doesn't glare beside a screen, and blue and teal match common lighting colours.
- A media room or den. Dark art suits a room meant for films. See game room and den wall art.
- A dorm room. One tapestry covers a bare wall for little money. See tapestry vs poster vs canvas for a dorm room.
- A blue, grey or white room.
It needs some light on it. In a dim corner, a picture this dark will read as a navy rectangle with a green streak. A lamp or a string of warm lights nearby brings out the falls and the mountains.
Sizes
The tapestry comes in four sizes, each in portrait or landscape.
- 26 × 36 inches: the size of a large poster. For a small wall or above a desk.
- 50 × 60 inches: above a twin or full bed, or a small sofa.
- 68 × 80 inches: above a queen bed. This is the size at which the scene starts to feel like a window.
- 88 × 104 inches: most of a wall.
The artwork is composed as a tall picture, with the sky above the valley. Portrait shows it as intended. Check the product images to see how the landscape version is cropped before you choose it. See the tapestry size guide.
Hanging it
- Keep it flat and taut. A landscape with a horizon looks best without sagging. Fix it along the top edge at several points, or use a rod or a strip of wood.
- Take out the fold lines first with a cool iron or a steamer. See how to wash a tapestry and remove wrinkles.
- No nails needed. See how to hang a tapestry without nails.
- Keep it clear of heaters and candles. It is polyester.
Lighting it
- Warm string lights along the top or down the sides give a soft glow and suit the starry sky. See tapestries with fairy lights and LED strips.
- An LED strip in teal or blue behind the bed or desk picks up the aurora.
- Avoid strong coloured light directly on it. It flattens the picture.
What to pair it with
- Winter Aurora Light. A snowy forest under a purple and white sky. Another aurora, in different colours.
- Blue Mountain Fog. Pines in teal cloud. It shares the cool palette, and it is lighter.
- Wolf Pack. Two wolves by a mountain lake at night. The two could be the same valley.
- In the room: navy and grey bedding, a teal cushion, dark wood, a warm lamp.
As a gift
It suits hikers, campers, people who have seen the northern lights or want to, and students with a blank wall. A tapestry folds small and posts easily, which helps if you are sending it. Each one is made to order, so allow 2 to 7 business days for production and 3 to 7 for US delivery.
Browse the tapestries collection for more.