Man Paints Sistine Chapel on Living Room Ceiling

Jorge D'Soria has given extreme makeover a new meaning.

He is painting a replica of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel on the living room ceiling of his otherwise typical south Arlington home.

And that only begins to scratch the surface of his artistic pursuits.

A trained opera singer, D'Soria, 58, once shared the stage with Luciano Pavarotti at the San Diego Opera and now performs with his wife, Jewel Myers, 73, at retirement homes and other venues across town.

With just a little prodding, he will belt out a song as Myers accompanies him on the living-room piano.

His inspiration to replicate the Sistine Chapel began when the couple moved to Arlington a little over a year ago from California to live in a house owned by Myers' son, Tony Wade.

"I had the idea to paint this ceiling because I like Michelangelo's art," D'Soria said. "Really, I wanted to have some of his art and these are some of the most important ones in the Sistine Chapel -- the creation of Adam and the creation of the sun and the moon and the Earth."

D'Soria's next project will be to create an Italian scene in the back yard, including sculpting a 9-foot replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa by the swimming pool.

Before moving to Texas, D'Soria was the artist in residence at the Aztec Motel in Monrovia, Calif., where he restored the murals in the hotel along Route 66. He also created 20 paintings in the same Aztec and Mayan styles that were prevalent in the hotel that dates to 1926.

The native of Aguascalientes, Mexico, has never seen the Sistine Chapel or any other part of Italy.

"I only know Italy through pictures and videos," said D'Soria, who studied the Vatican Web site and held printouts in his hand while he painted.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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