The night sky is full of endless inspiration, but some of the most captivating stories lie thousands of light-years away. My latest piece, a study in deep blue titled “TOI-733b: The Blue Solitude,” is inspired by a distant exoplanet that embodies both immense beauty and existential drama.

The Scientific Mystery

TOI-733b is a planet outside our solar system, classified as a “sub-Neptune” world. What makes it so fascinating—and the perfect subject for a moody, surreal painting—is its current state. Scientists believe this planet is in the process of losing its atmosphere.

Located close to its star, it’s being bombarded with radiation, stripping away its gaseous envelope. If this process is complete, what remains might be a dense core, a “naked” planet exposed to the vacuum of space. It’s a world caught in a cosmic transition, a slow, dramatic evaporation.

Artistic Interpretation: Blue Solitude

How do you paint a drama unfolding 245 light-years away?

I chose a monochromatic palette: layers of deep sapphire, navy, and icy blue, to capture the cold, aqueous, and profoundly lonely atmosphere of this world.

• The Clouds: I wanted the brushwork to reflect the churning, gaseous nature of its vanishing atmosphere, contrasting soft light and hard shadows to create massive, ethereal cloud banks. These clouds look like water or ice, floating over a vast, unknown ocean.

• The Horizon: The stark curve of the planet dominates the piece, symbolizing the fragile boundary between the world and the infinite blackness. It’s a moment of quiet majesty, where the scale of cosmic events dwarfs human experience.

Why Paint a Dying World?

The story of TOI-733b isn’t just about science; it’s a metaphor for change, loss, and the cyclical nature of everything. Painting this world was a way to reflect on the immense forces constantly at play in the universe. It’s a reminder that even the most massive, beautiful worlds have life cycles, and there is a solemn beauty in that immense transformation.

I hope this painting transports you to the quiet, sublime edge of the known universe.