He began his project in late 2005 and thought he'd be finished by Christmas the following year.

But Graham Foster had taken on a bit more than he realised and actually ended up finishing his project last March

What is it? 'The History of Bermuda' mural an enormous piece of work charting major events in the Island's life.

"I reckoned I'd be finished by Christmas 2006, which was way off the mark as I've only just finished now, in March 2009," he said.

"In a way, the completion date has worked out well to coincide with the 400th anniversary celebrations."

When Graham first walked into the Pillared Hall, at the Maritime Museum with director Dr. Edward Harris, he was met by an imposing expanse of 1,000 sq ft of whiteness. Dr. Harris told him that they would love him to paint Bermuda's entire history.

"It was an exciting, but daunting moment and a once in a lifetime opportunity few artists ever get," he remembered.

"So, I went all out on the research, reading every book on Bermuda history I could get hold of from 'Lefroys Memorials of the Bermudas,' 'Life in Old St. Davids', through to Rose Jones 'Five Centuries' to name a few.

"From these books, I made extensive lists of anything that could translate well visually. These were then attached to a time line from the early 16th century through to present day. I now know more about Bermuda history than I'd ever wanted to!

"The Internet also provided a large amount of my research, along with a digital camera."

But difficulty would soon follow, as the entire mural had to be painted in a miniature style, which would allow a smooth transition from one historical scene to the next. This was made even trickier as the walls drop from eight feet high to 20 ft high, as they descend a stairwell.

He experimented with a more realistic style, but found it hard to maintain a flow from scene to scene.

"I then noticed a couple of my surreal Bermuda prints nearby, 'Bermuda Buenavista' and 'Windy Day'. One was very detailed, while the other was more surreal with Dali-esque 'melting' houses," said Mr. Foster.

"I figured a mixture of these two styles would suit the mural so I continued from there, making a scale model of the room, using trees waterways and roads to give a sinuous flow around each highlight of Bermuda's history.

"I tried to include not just major events, but also the more obscure day-to-day happenings, customs and traditions that give Bermuda and her people their unique character."

Once he had completed the miniatures, he began sketching.

"I used a grid system for this," he said. "The scaffolding went up and every line within a one-inch square on the miniatures was sketched into a one foot square on the wall."

Then came 7,000 hours of painting, which tested his sanity at times, as scale, proportion and perspective problems arose all the time, plus his hours became longer and longer as he fell behind schedule.

"My wife became an art widow, and did a great job keeping the home fires burning, as at times I was almost living at the Museum," he said. "Looking back, now I'm pretty much finished it's all a crazy blur, the mural took over our lives for three-and-a-half years so I'm still getting used to this sweet freedom."

He admits that it was a tough project at times, but welcomed that it took him out of his comfort zone.

"It forced me to paint things I never would have, such as horse and carts, planes, trains and bikes etc, so it was a good learning experience," he said.

"I'll also do more prep work on future paintings and sculptures."

He hoped that this mural would get Bermudians, especially children, fired up about their amazing history and the events that have forged the Island's character that exisst today.

People have asked if he would do another mural on this scale.

"I reckon I would once I recharge the batteries, as there was a lot of material I couldn't fit in this time, plus subjects such as whaling, house and boat building etc. that could be expanded upon."

The mural should be officially opened late this month or in June, but it can be viewed now.

For more information visitthe website: www.grahamfoster.com.