SOLD / Original $3,500 / Acrylic on canvas 30" x 48" / Prints available. Featured in Ron Miller's celebrated book, "The Art of Space". Featured on Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy/Discover Magazine blog 2012. Chosen for Phil Plait's 2012 Best Astronomy Images / Slate Magazine. 'The Brush Strokes of Star Birth' takes 1st place in 'Space and Astronomy Art Contest' held in Fine Art America, October 2012. Description: The Brush Strokes of Star Birth is a rendering of a nebula cataloged as Sharpless 2-106. It is gorgeous star-forming region located in the constellation Cygnus, a dynamic nebula stretching approximately two light years across, which is small in comparison to the famous Orion Nebula M42 that stretches approximately 24 light years across. The bright star in the middle of the nebula surrounded by a cocoon of hourglass-shaped dark gases is definitely the "star" of the show. It's newly born energy is so intense that it has heated up the surrounding gases to 10,000 degrees Celsius causing them to glow in seemingly winged beauty. When I discovered the Hubble Space Telescope wide field image of S-106 IR, I couldn't take my eyes off the amazing little powerhouse. I was compelled to learn more about it and render it on canvas. Many thanks to astronomer Nick Howes for sharing his image of Sh2-106 which I also used for reference while working on this piece. Progression of the canvas work can be viewed at "In The Studio". Copyright 2012 Lucy West / All Rights Reserved. Contact Lucy West for information regarding image use.