Mural Makeover for CPS

My painting keeps taking me in new directions and here I go again… I volunteered to help paint murals in the new CPS building in Peoria, AZ and ended up being handed the project – several rooms and helpers who don’t paint, hmmm. Well, with the VERY small budget they gave me, I decided to hit up Sherwin Williams for donations. I’m a loyal customer and hoped they could help. They did indeed. They gave me about $120 of paint without batting an eye (thanks guys)!

I’m starting in the Crisis Room – where the families go first and wait to find out what will happen. When that room is finished I will move on to the supervised visitation rooms. There are 7 of these rooms and there is 1, possibly 2 artists coming to do a room each- the rest I will do (any artist volunteers out there that want to help?). I’m designing a couple rooms at a time to get approval and with my schedule I’m only there 4-5 hours a week. This could take a while…but it WILL get done.

The rooms to be painted are quite bleak – plain walls, a table and chairs, few toys… I’m designing rooms for toddlers up to teenagers in hopes of offering a little distraction, some hope, and maybe even a smile. I’ll post the finished rooms on here but you can follow the progress on Facebook if you’d like -that’s when I don’t forget my camera at least… like last week.

Here is the Before of the Crisis Room:

A Time for Change…

I’m beginning a new journey in my life, in my art really. I will always paint but lately I’ve had the desire to try my hand at other mediums. I want to grow as an artist, break out of my preconceived boundaries and try new things.

A few years ago I made a mosaic table top. A very simple design using leftover tile pieces. I thought it was fun to do but my painting came first so I didn’t explore that avenue. Now, however, I have a great desire to try my hand at mosaics again. This time I am eager to use found objects such as china fragments, ceramics, marbles, stones, and glass to name a few. I want to use seashell pieces collected from my families trip to Oregon last summer to make something very personal just for me. I want to create original pieces with more complex designs, with feeling and personality.

This fall, I will set on down another road. I am taking a stained glass course. I am incredibly excited! I have always loved stained glass but never thought of trying it myself. I want to learn all I can. I want to learn how to make intricate, beautiful pictures with colored glass. I can’t wait!

And when I’ve gotten my bearings on mosaics and stained glass, I want to learn to weld. Characteristically a “mans” domain, bending, shaping, and welding metals intirgues me to no end! I love metal. Look around and see the many metal pieces that make up your surroundings. The variations are vast, the appeal immediate.

Why am I hungering for such change? I want to grow as an artist, which to me is more than a profession. It’s also very personal. I want to express myself with a variety of media. I want to make beautiful art with fewer boundaries. I want to make functional pieces as well as art. I also have the desire to reduce the “waste” in this world, taking found objects, scrap metal, tossed furniture and remaking them into objects of beaty. Professionally, I would also like to form ongoing and long lasting relationships with my clients where I can provide them endless opportunities to beautify their homes and their lives.

Along the way, I will share my progress and who knows where my journey will ultimately take me…

Budget Makeovers: Kitchen Island Redo

First, I want to apologize for taking so long to get a project up here. I had other business related work I had to get out of the way before I worked on my own home. So … here is project #1:

I redid my standard kitchen island. By adding molding and paint, my kitchen island now looks like a custom piece. The original island was one of those plain paneled built-ins that came with our home. I’ll see if I can find a picture to add here.

 The molding can be purchased at your local Home Depot or Lowes. Start by giving your island a good sanding, knock back as much of the glossy surface as you can. Cut the moldings to the sizes you need and attach with glue made for that purpose (usually sold in the same area of the store). Apply a primer made for glossy surfaces to be safe (I used one tinted to my base color). Lightly sand smooth. Apply 2 coats of your base color (tan is used here), lightly sanding between coats.

Use a white wax candle to rub down all of the edges and raised moldings where the base color is to show through. After that paint 2 coats of black satin(or a top color of your choice) over everything. When dry lightly sand back to the base color where you applied the wax.  I chose a satin paint for the look and feel. However, if you prefer, glossy will work well also. I then used furniture wax to give it a nice shine and a little more protection. I also added drawer pulls to finish off the look.

Paint projects to spruce up your home and not bust your budget!

With the economy the way it is, business is slow. Let’s face it, people aren’t spending like they used to and the way home values have depreciated, people are loathe to put more money into their humble abodes. Well, thankfully a majority of homes will recoup their value if the homeowner can wait it out. So for those of you who will be staying put for a while, what better way to drive away the doldrums than to spruce up your surroundings – without breaking the bank!

I’ve decided to do some sprucing up myself. I’m happy to share with you what a little paint and ingenuity can do. I have a list a mile long of what I WANT to get done but it will remain to be seen what I will actually accomplish this year. With each project I take on, I will take before and after pictures and tell you a little about the process. Whether you decide to take on some new painting projects of your own or hire them out, I hope I’ll at least provide you with a little inspiration.

To get us started, I’ll share with you a couple recent projects.

This is my “new” computer desk.  Actually, it’s an old vanity. (Sorry, I don’t have any before pictures for this one.) I gave it a light sanding, added a faux leather finish to the top and drawer fronts , and painted the rest black. I sanded back a little of the black to see some of the wood underneath – so when my kids bang it up a little it won’t be noticeable because that’s how it’s supposed to look. I topped it with a couple coats of varnish. I added a keyboard tray and replaced the drawer slides that were broken and VOILA… a cute practical desk.

 For project #2 I repainted the yellow metal mirror surrounds with a special textured paint topped with black glaze.  A couple coats of varnish protects it. Now, I need to do the other bathroom.

before

after

larger mirror

Neither of these projects was on a grand scale but they each succeeded in brightening up a part of my home. Not only that but I saved a piece of furniture from a landfill and it only took a little bit of paint. So, take a look around your own home and start planning your next project.

Stay tuned for more…

 

Pregnant? How about a Belly Cast?

I’d like to share with you a recent commission of mine. To begin, Angela, from Massage-ology , makes belly casts of pregnant women and I custom paint them.  A plaster cast of the torso area is made and you can choose to paint it yourself or have it custom painted in any way you can possibly imagine. Each cast becomes a unique piece of artwork, wired to be hung on the wall for display, preserving the memory of a most special time in your life.

For this cast, I was asked to make a henna tattoo design of a peacock for the belly with some flowers added. After a little research, I had the client choose a picture of a design she liked from some  that I found online. From there I drew up my own design and did a little experimenting for the background. Below is what I came up with.

Belly Cast

The background is very shimmery. It is a blend of metallic and brown glazes. It looks a little like bronze and has a lot of depth to the finish. The client is thrilled with it so of course I am, too.

 

Check out More Casts I’ve Painted

 

and also Other Cast Options by Angela and browse the gallery, too.

 

Finished Painted Pet Portrait, Acrylic on canvas

OK, so I didn’t finish over the weekend. I’ve been fighting a nasty cold and other things popped up. Anyway, here it is. I finished this morning. This is about 3 more hours work I would guess. Again, because it was my first pet portrait there was alot of trial and error but I’m pleased with the outcome.

Acrylic on canvas, 9" x 12"

Pet Portrait, Acrylic on canvas, WIP cont.

This is where I’m at today. About 2 1/2- 3 hours (?) of painting today I’m guessing. I wasn’t really keeping track.

WIP

Pet Portrait, Acrylic on canvas, Work in Progress

 This is my first pet portrait. I’ve painted animals before but never one I actually knew. This is King. He was 8 years old when he died almost 6 years ago. He was an awesome dog and my husbands first. We all miss him. The first pic here is an 8×10 of him that we keep around.

King

 

My sketch.

rough sketch

 

This next pic is after about 1 hour of painting. It’s still pretty rough but it’s starting to look like him.

awkward stage

 I hope to have him finished before the weekend is over.

 

Superstition Mountains, Acrylic on canvas, finished

 

I added just a few more highlights and deeper shadows. Complete and ready for sale. $175

Superstition Mountains, Apache Junction, AZ

Many reason’s for using decorative painting in your home and the best places to put it

 There are so many possibilities for decorative paint treatments and so many reasons to use them in your home. Decorative painting is one of the most cost-effective ways to add custom touches and personalize your home. Decorative paint treatments can be used to create focal points or highlight features of a room. 

 

Use decorative painting to:

Accent wall in entry

*Create an accent wall in an entry, dining room, or bedroom.

 *Highlight a fireplace or large crown moldings.

*Transform plain columns.

* Highlight niches or entertainment centers.

*Create a dramatic backdrop for art work.

*Further a theme or motif, tie elements of a room together. 

*Compliment a style such as Tuscan.

* Add the illusion of depth, height, or space to a room.

*Tie in 2 or more colors in a room or adjoining rooms.

Finish on fireplace

*Give new life to old hardwood floors.

*Liven up your block fence or your cement patio.

 

 Ways to personalize with decorative painting:

*Add a border.

*Add words! A name or a phrase.

* Add a “faux” window with a view to whatever your heart desires!

*Repaint an old piece of furniture to match you decor.

*Have your shiny brass hardware redone in a bronze or pewter finish.

Olde World Style

*Paint a faux finish or an all-over stencil above or below a chair rail.

*Paint clouds on a ceiling.

*Add a relief (raised) stencil to your dining room ceiling for a dramatic effect.

*Add stripes, vertical (for the illusion of height) or horizontal (for the illusion of width) to a room.

*Create interest and fun in a child’s room with mural accents or an all-over mural!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 These are just the tip of the iceberg! The possibilities are endless!