Different artists find inspiration in different places.

For Thomas Christopher Haag, it often comes from above, out of the night sky.

So, in anticipation of what promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event, the appearance of the massive comet ISON, the 41-year-old self-described “street artist at heart,” owner of Pituitary Gallery in Surina Business and Retail Park, collected his paints, brushes and an extension ladder, and embarked on one of his favorite creative past-times: painting murals.

“That’s the kind of events I’m into, the celestial more than the political,” Haag said of the comet. “I find them way more interesting.”

Believed to be billions of years old, a relic of the ancient solar system, ISON will makes its closest pass by the sun on Thanksgiving Day, and then slingshot out of the solar system forever. It’s been visible in the early morning sky for weeks.

Haag, who returned to San Juan Island in June after a 10-year absence, pursuing artistic endeavors in New Mexico and in Oakland, Calif., found an ideal canvas on which to commemorate the comet right next door.

In fact, he’s been busy transforming the outside of one of the business park’s buildings for weeks.

“It’s what I like to do the most,” Haag said. “When I’m out painting murals I’m at my happiest.”