Mural/Decorative Paint Finish or Wallpaper part 3

 Style and Appearance

I’ll start by discussing faux finishes in a little more detail here. The word “faux” means fake, so a faux finish is a finish that imitates the real thing. These finishes can include marble, granite, limestone, or an “aged” finish you would find in say a 17th century tuscan farmhouse. Both the depth and feel of these finishes are best accomplished with paint and/or plaster. Decorative finishes, however, encompass an infinite amount of colors and patterns. Painting, certainly does give more depth to any finish but that may not be that important to you, keeping in mind the over-all look you are trying to achieve.

There are certain styles that lend themselves much better to paint than wallpaper. These include any Olde World or plaster-type finish, frescoes, Tuscan, folk art, or anything where a time-worn look is desired. Wallpaper works well for such styles as French (toile), English styles, and many contemporary styles.

Olde Worlde Style with Hand-Painted Cracks

When deciding on wallpaper or paint, make sure you consider appearance. Any small wallpaper mural you purchase, where edges are exposed, should be considered temporary. If you decide to buy a wallpaper “window”, consider adding a simple frame to cover the edges and integrate it into the room. A painted mural will always have the edge over wallpaper murals in appearance. Since cost is comparable, a painted mural is the better investment.

Finished Baby Tile

To those of you waiting for me to finish the Superstitions, sorry I’ll get to it soon. I promise. In the meantime, here is the finished birth-announcement tile. I will be delivering it tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

Mural/Decorative Paint Finish or Wallpaper part 2

Customization and Personalization

There are all sorts of companies now that make custom wallpapers. Sometimes a wallpaper mural can be made from a photograph. I have seen this advertised, however you must have a very good quality picture to begin with or your mural will not be too clear when enlarged. If you choose to have a mural done this way, make sure you find a photo that you like in it’s entirety. Look it over very carefully because you don’t want telephone wires, garbage, or if it’s a street scene – some unattractive stranger staring at you every time you walk by. I would also suggest seeing one of these murals in person before making your decision.

If you choose to have an artist hand-paint your mural, you can request your own personal touches – a store sign with the family name, a wine bottle label with your anniversary date on it, or the family pet running in a field. Another reason to choose a hand-painted mural is so you can integrate it into the room. If you purchase a ready-made window mural, for instance, you will have a seam/edge around the mural. The edge will be more pronounced of course if you have textured walls and it may seem to float or look out of place. However, with a painted mural, you can alter that perception. As you can see in this picture, the hand-painted stone extends beyond the edges of the window and becomes an integral part of the room, not a lone element.

 

For a medium or large all-over pattern or a repeating border pattern, painting is an excellent option. By measuring carefully and making slight adjustments in placement, you’ll have a custom look and no worries about overlapping patterns on your last corner.

 

 

Wallpaper for a small, repeating/all-over pattern where overlapping the pattern would be much less noticeable may make more sense than paying an artist for this tedious work. However, if you can’t find what you’re looking for in a wallpaper pattern, you may want to have it custom painted.

 

And lastly, every faux finish is custom made. The client chooses the color(s) and style – with help from their artist or designer. I have never seen a faux finish wallpaper that I like. Faux and plaster finishes are applied in layers and you can see the depth in these finishes that can not be accomplished with wallpaper. I will discuss this further next week.  

 

Next Friday…Style and Appearance

 

 

 

 

Mural/Decorative Paint Finish or Wallpaper Part 1

As an artist who paints murals and faux finishes, this topic is near and dear to my heart. Of course you’re thinking that, because of my profession, I would recommend a paint treatment anyday over wallpaper. And you’re right, mostly, but not for that reason. There are several reasons I would recommend a painted finish but once in a while, I have to admit, wallpaper will be a better option. Things you need to consider: Cost, durability & longevity, appearence, customization & personalization, installation & removal, and wall texture.

Cost

Everybody wants to know “how much am I going to spend?” Sometimes that is the one and only deciding factor. It certainly shouldn’t be. Cost should actually be near the bottom of your list of criteria. The cost to wallpaper a room can be anywhere from $300 to several thousands, just for the wallpaper (remember large wallpaper murals can be very expensive). And what about installation? And possible removal? Figure in those costs as well as your valuable time if you decide to do it yourself. To mural, stencil, or faux finish that same room can run anywhere from $400 to several thousands also.  

As you can see, general cost estimates are irrelevent in the beginning stages. Your final price will be based on the amount of detail, time involved in the design and implementation, cost of materials, etc. For a mural, you would need to decide if it is a full floor to ceiling mural with lots of detail or mural accents throughout the room, cartoon character style or realism. For a decorative finish, do you want a 1-2 step galze finish, a venetian plaster that takes several steps and expensive materials, or an allover repeating stencil pattern where the artist would need to puchase several stencils and and use plenty of prep time to design your room so the pattern flows properly. The decorative painter/artist you choose will help you make these decisions and more.

So, now what? Well, I hope you’ll remember cost is just a small part in your decision. Yes you can still keep a budget but don’t get hung up on a number when there are so many other things to consider.

Next up…Customization & Personalization

What’s on my easel con’t. – sort of

 

OK, so I didn’t touch the canvas today. I received an order for a birth-announcement tile. Of course I didn’t have any tiles on hand so I had to go pick some up. It’s for a baby boy and I was told to do whatever theme I want. I guess I’ll do a new design but I’m not sure what yet. I don’t know the parents ( a friend is buying it) so I don’t want to do sports, any ideas?

Sample Tile

 

 

I’m also trying to get paperwork done for a part-time job teaching after school drawing classes for elementary schools through Young Rembrandts. Tomorrow, I have to go get fingerprinted for a background check. I’m looking forward to the classes. I’ll have 2 classes at my daughter’s school and I know alot of the kids.

And back to those mountains. Here’s a picture I took of them about 13 years ago with my old 35mm camera. The mountains look a little washed out. I should go get some more pics but it’s about an hour drive. I don’t think I’ll be heading there any time soon.

Superstition Mountains, Apache Junction, AZ

What’s on my easel part 2

Here’s where I’m at. I painted out the foothills yesterday and started them over. I didn’t get very far though. I also need to make some decisions on the foreground before I go much further.

Work in Progress

What’s on my easel

I am currently working on a painting of the Superstition Mountans located in Apache Junction, AZ. I have a lot going on right now so it’s been slow going. I’ll try to post a picture tomorrow of my progress. Maybe that will light my fire to get it done.

16″ x 20″ Acrylic on canvas *Sold

Italian Courtyard

Acrylic on canvas 16″ x 20″

Springtime in the desert