Here is a photo of Avery's Bedroom mural. He loves science! I wanted a graphic mural so I decided to do a cross section of the earth's core. I painted the bands of color first and then I ordered custom wall words in various fonts that I applied on the walls. The text would not have been as crisp if I had painted it. He loves the resulting mural and I think it's not something he will grow out of quickly.
Below is a very simple project Avery and I did together for his room. The top half is a peg board that is painted in silver and green stripes. The bottom is a piece of plywood that we painted with both magnetic paint and chalkboard paint. We hung it using a french cleat. It is a very inexpensive solution for storage and display!
Clara's room consists of a number of re purposed items. Basically, I "shopped" my garage and other rooms of the house. The large closets on either side of the window were in the study of our last home. I added floral and butterfly "wall sticker" designs that wrap around the sides. She now has plenty of closet space which I am sure she will appreciate when she is older. I carried the same floral and butterfly designs through the room randomly on the walls. I hung paper lanterns from the ceiling that were left over from a party that I hosted. I love paper lanterns, especially in a little girls room! I bought these at the local Asian grocery store. The painting above the desk is by local artist (& my best friend) Rosemary Daugherty! The girl in the painting is drinking a slushy in front of the a lucky stop convenience store. She reminds me of Clara!
Outside of the kid's rooms is a linen closet that was not very functional. The hall is very wide and felt like waisted space. I took the doors down and painted the interior shelves a dark brown. I now use it to store and display books and games. The lower shelves hold the children's frequently used items. They often build a floor puzzle or play a board game right on the hall floor.
Below is a very simple project Avery and I did together for his room. The top half is a peg board that is painted in silver and green stripes. The bottom is a piece of plywood that we painted with both magnetic paint and chalkboard paint. We hung it using a french cleat. It is a very inexpensive solution for storage and display!
Clara's room consists of a number of re purposed items. Basically, I "shopped" my garage and other rooms of the house. The large closets on either side of the window were in the study of our last home. I added floral and butterfly "wall sticker" designs that wrap around the sides. She now has plenty of closet space which I am sure she will appreciate when she is older. I carried the same floral and butterfly designs through the room randomly on the walls. I hung paper lanterns from the ceiling that were left over from a party that I hosted. I love paper lanterns, especially in a little girls room! I bought these at the local Asian grocery store. The painting above the desk is by local artist (& my best friend) Rosemary Daugherty! The girl in the painting is drinking a slushy in front of the a lucky stop convenience store. She reminds me of Clara!
Outside of the kid's rooms is a linen closet that was not very functional. The hall is very wide and felt like waisted space. I took the doors down and painted the interior shelves a dark brown. I now use it to store and display books and games. The lower shelves hold the children's frequently used items. They often build a floor puzzle or play a board game right on the hall floor.
I have also completed the toddler stage that I referred to in a previous post. It includes a bee hive for our good friend "Bible Bee." He looks quite at home in his new surroundings!
I have also begun to paint oils on gessoed handmade paper. This results in a highly textured painting. The lemon painting is one of my paintings using this technique. I begin with a pen and ink drawing of the subject. I then apply thin layers of oils (this is called glazing.) I build up the color further with opaque color (referred to as scumbling.) Finally, I apply colors using a palette knife. I use restraint with this application because I do not want to loose the luminous quality of the glazed colors. I framed the above painting in a custom black shadow box so that the paper appears to be floating within the frame.
My oil painting class continues and here is my latest. Our first still life with flowers! The canvas size is 8x8. I am really enjoying painting on a small scale. As for the subject, I find flowers intimidating to paint but, like my birds, sunflowers make me smile!
