Painting on Walls: Another Pooch!

Remember The Southern Pooch project? Well I got the super awesome chance to paint another dog on the wall!

The Southern Pooch's owner's mama (Say that three times fast!) asked me to paint this beloved pet as a surprise for her daughter. I agreed but also wondered how I could paint something in public AND have it be a surprise too...hmmm.

Luck would have it that the owner would be out of town on Friday so I made plans to get up to the building and paint paint paint!

I had a small window of time to paint this so there would be no crying, whining, or bratty artist behavior on my part. I had to just get it done and get it done well!

Thankfully it was a beautiful day. A bit chilly so I had to take breaks to warm my hands, but still very calm and sunny.

His name is Buddy. Sadly, he crossed the rainbow bridge awhile ago so this will serve as a memorial. He was super fun to paint!

And here we go! I think there's talk of eventually adding more dogs as time goes by. One pooch at a time, right?

Oh! Let me tell you about small towns: It's hard to do anything and get away with it! So this was supposed to be a surprise for the owner while she was out of town for the day. Turns out, one of her friends saw me painting and texted her about it, spoiling the surprise! All accidental, so what can ya do? It's a small town thing!

Painting on Walls: The Southern Pooch!

As a small town artist, I get asked to do a variety of things. My last project of 2014 was painting a large dog on the side of a building. I was super excited to accept this challenge!

I didn't design the logo. I only put it on the wall.
This is the first afternoon. I was sure that I could wrap this up in a day or two, but I was totally, totally wrong. Painting on concrete walls is tedious work!

Ok, I admit: I had a bit of a bratty artist moment after this afternoon. It was taking longer than I thought and I couldn't even reach the top of the dog's head with my small step-ladder. I berated myself for not knowing what I was doing. But this was the first mural I've painted in a very long time...so surely there's a learning curve, right?

Rainy weather set me back a few more days, but it was enough time to get my head straight and back in the game. My dad gave me one of his ladders and it helped out tremendously.

And it all came together in the end! I'm super proud of this!

I added little footprints on the other side. While I was painting I had several people stop and ask for my business card. So perhaps I'll be painting more murals soon?

The dog's name is Flash and he belongs to the owner of The Southern Pooch. 

So much fun!

Commissioned Project - Peaceful River

Last month I was commissioned to paint a mural for a nearby church. The folks in charge wanted a nice river scene above their baptismal tub but didn't want the permanence of a wall-painted mural. After some time thinking about it, I decided to paint the mural using four large canvases. They're thin and light-weight and could be attached to the wall using Command Picture Hanging Strips. Perfectly impermanent, if I do say so myself!

A few shots of the piece in progress. 

And the final product:

The client was kind enough to send me photos after it was installed. I think it looks great and adds a nice pop of color behind the baptismal tub. 

Here's a link to the last mural I painted above a baptismal tub.

I'm always open to new projects, murals, and other large paintings. Leave a comment if you'd like more info!

Latest Project: Mural at a Local Church

I spent the first half of this week standing in a baptism tub and painting the walls around it. Not a bad way to pass the time...I definitely enjoy being able to work in a variety of settings. Being a working artist is awesome!

Been Awhile!

Apologies for the unexpected hiatus! My laptop got sick and stayed sick for two whole months! But I'm back, baby, and I'm showing off some art I've worked on lately. Please look forward to some new posts in the near future.

Last week's project: a family tree mural. About 7 hours total. 15 feet wide, 8 or 9 feet tall. 

A commissioned piece for a newly opened hair salon. About 4 feet wide, 3 feet tall.

Tell me, what have I missed??? What's going on with you? :)

Completed Mural

Here it is, in all its glory!

Another Tree Mural

My sister-in-law found an image of a tree mural on Pinterest and asked if I could paint something similar. I spent Wednesday morning painting this. I had set aside two mornings to paint it but only needed one.

The other tree mural is in her son's room (my nephew), and I'm pretty sure I'll be doing a cherry blossom tree in another bedroom in the near future. I'm always excited to paint big!

Mark that one off my to-do list!

Small Town Mural - Finishing Touches

Yesterday I finally completed my huge flag mural. My husband Daniel came along to help with a few things. After he finished his part of the painting, he took some pictures while I worked.

I didn't realize I had red paint all over my face until I got home. 

I love this photo so much. It makes me look like I'm waaaaaay up in the air. It's really only 20 feet or so. 

I'm hoping the scaffolding will be taken down today or tomorrow so I can get a completed photo.

This mural took about 28 hours to complete.

End of the Week - Big Ol' Small Town Mural

This is definitely taking longer than I thought. I always underestimate the time it takes to paint all the nooks and crannies of brick walls. 

Day One - Big Ol' Small Town Mural

I'm used to painting big. The sets I do for the Arts Council's plays are at least 15 feet tall and 20 feet wide. So when I was asked to paint the side of a building, 12 feet tall and 20 feet wide, I thought to myself, no problem, I can't totally work that! When I arrived at the jobsite, I quickly realized this project was going to be intense; it already sat 8 feet above the ground. Thank goodness the owner had access to scaffolding!

This is going to fill my next week or two, maybe three. Here goes everything!

New Week, New Project

I'm equal parts excited and terrified about this week's project. This flag is going to be painted on the side of a brick building. And I'm painting it! 

Little Tree Mural

Yesterday I painted a tree in my nephew's room. I tried my best to match his nursery theme and kept everything simple and light. I'm hoping that one day soon I'll get a chance to paint another nursery tree! This was such a fun project.

Dance Studio Mural - Finally Finished!

Stick a fork in it, folks! She's done! That's right, after working on this on and off since October, I'm finally done. The mural is about 15 feet wide and 8 to 9 feet tall. It's mighty big!

I've been taking photos of the progress so I made a little time-lapse video. It's really neat to see how it all started. 

The song is "Open Heart Surgery" by the Brian Jonestown Massacre, one of my favorite bands.

And since it was in a dance studio, I was surrounded by mirrors. I had to take a photo in the mirror to show a size comparison. See? It's a big 'un!

Monday... Mural Monday

I'm painting on the walls of the local dance studio. There are huge mirrors everywhere and I couldn't resist taking one of the mural and me. See how huge it is? I'm hoping to finish it up this week. 

I have a couple of projects in the works, and the blog kind of went on the backburner for a few days. Whoops! I will be doing better this week, for sure!

My Creative Space Thursday

It's looking like September and October is my busy season as an artist! I don't have to many words right now, but here's a mural I'm working on this week. I'm hoping to get it done next week. FINGERS CROSSED!

Beginning of a New Week

And beginning of a new mural!

I really love my new projector!

Little Dancer of Fourteen Years Mural

All in all, I think she took about 8-10 hours. I couldn't work longer than 2 hours at a time because standing on a ladder and painting really took its toll on me.

But she's done and I couldn't be more excited to show her off! My assignment was to take Edgar Degas' Little Dancer of Fourteen Years, make her outfit pink, and paint her on the wall. And here you go, a pretty mural for the local dance studio. She's about 9 feet tall and her dress is about 3 feet wide. 

I used acrylic paints mixed with a little Polycrylic to help it stick to the wall. You can't see it in the photo, but the tutu is covered in tiny pink glitter. I used Martha Stewart Living Glitter Specialty Finish and it's beautiful. I also used the metallic finish on the girl's body but thinned it down 50% with Polycrylic. 

I'm starting another mural in the dance studio next week. Can't wait to show it off!

I also took a picture of my supplies:

A big mess, I tell ya!

More Progress Shots

Monday morning's work.

Tuesday Morning's Work.

I tell you what, this ballerina's kicking my booty. But she's looking good! 

On My Desk Wednesday

More like, On My Plate Wednesday! I'm starting a new mural at the local dance studio. The mural will be of Degas' Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. How in the world am I going to get a 3D image on to a 2D wall?? I'm not too sure, but I have a plan! I'm pretty sure everything will work out! Gotta have faith, right?

Nursery Mural, Complete

I'm slowly but surely wrapping up some large projects this week, so I'm not too worried about updating the blog. Last week was just the same, and full of visiting relatives and friends, so I didn't have time to think about much else, especially the internet.

I've been wanting to do a progress video on any of my large projects, and this nursery mural was perfect. I took a photo every twenty to thirty minutes then made a short video. The song is "Sleep" by The Dandy Warhols. I've been quite obsessed with them since seeing them a few weeks ago in Atlanta. They played an amazing show and afterwards I got to hug Zia, my favorite member of the band.

Enjoy the video and let me know what you think! :)