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!

Making: A Street Puppet

Puppets! I love 'em! I was brought up with Sesame Street and Muppets and found myself quite fond of large street puppets as an adult. It's been an interest I haven't explored until just recently. After multiple viewings of Beauty is Embarassing (Wayne White is my spirit animal!), watching an artist buddy prace around in her own huge puppet at an art festival, and seeing a large puppet at the Wild Rumpus in Athens I knew it was something I had to do.


Please, watch this documentary when you get the chance!


As with most projects, I start out with a vague idea in my head. I had a little sketch of an angel in my notebook, but other than that, just kinda winged it. The head is made from pink insulation foam from Home Depot. The hand is styrofoam covered in spackling paste.

NOTE: Don't make the hand out of foam and spackle. I just used supplies that I had around the studio. The spackle made the hands too heavy. Just trust me.

Painting the face. I took the photo with my feet for size comparison. I used pipe cleaners and hot glue for the eye lashes.

Wings from cardboard. Heart from cardboard and a battery operated string of LED lights. There's a painted hand.

A friend let me have a backpack frame and I used plastic zipties to attach two pvc pipes to the back. They're duct-taped at the top. This is the basic frame for the body. 

Ribbon as hair. There's a halo made from wire and a battery-operated string of lights. This puppet was going to be part of the local Christmas light parade so I made sure to light her up as much as I could. 

I used sheer curtains as her gown.


HERE'S ANOTHER TIP: Make sure your puppet can FIT into your transportation. I did not think of this until the DAY of the parade. I had about two inches to spare, but that was after about 20 minutes of wrangling the puppet into the back space of my Rav4.

Here she is all put together. There's a panel of tulle in front of my face. Enough to cover it but I could still see. We estimated she stood at a little over 9 feet tall. 

I made star luminaries for my daughter and her friends to carry in front of me. And my husband is hugging the puppet because we thought it would be funny.

Such a fun project! Since she was made of foam and fabric she didn't weigh too much. It was a mild night with no wind so I had very little trouble walking the parade. The hands became to heavy so I had my husband and friend carry them as they walked next to me.

As for the parade watchers, they seemed to like it. I heard lots of OOOOOhs and AAAAAAAhs and some EW CREEPY from little kids. But hey, it's all good. I tried it and had fun, that's all that matters.

I can't wait to make another one!

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!

101 Dalmatians Kids Set

I've been working on the set for the Thomaston Upson Arts Council's Annual Summer Theatre Production. This year's play is 101 Dalmatians Kids. I really enjoy the kids production because I can be big, bright, and bubbly with my work. Yesterday I finished up the scene for Cruella DeVil's Fur Vault, a room where she keeps the puppies and her furs. You can click on the photos to enlarge them. 

The idea was to have a lot of puppies in this scene. Some kids in puppy costumes will be in front of this backdrop so I had to make sure the painted puppies were big enough to be noticed. And I couldn't make them too cute and happy since they are trapped. 

I'll post picture from another scene once I get all the props finished for it. 

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! 

Tired Thursday

Can I tell you how happy I am to see Thursday? I knew with all my projects lined up this week, I would be thrilled to see this day. With painting my studio on Sunday, painting the set for the production of Oklahoma! on Monday and Tuesday, then painting windows on Wednesday, my week has been busy. Honestly, I don't think I would have it any other way. I mean, I painted and made art all week! For pay! How awesome is that?

Here's a little photo dump of what I've been up to:

My buddy Sammie and I took a painting class at a brand new nearby painting studio. We had a great time and we're looking forward to doing it again. 

Here's a photo of the first day of painting on the Oklahoma! set. I love painting large, but this one nearly made me cry. I've got to get better at managing my time.

This is Wednesday's project. A new business is opening on the town square and their logo features a pair of wings. The owners thought it would be neat to have wings on their doors. And they were totally right!

The owner took a photo of me while I was working and I thought it was a pretty good shot! 

Now I can focus on my studio for the next week or so. I'm sure I'll be updating with progress pictures. Keep your eyes peeled. :)

Attack of the 10 Foot Snowman

This is a week to get things done, so you'll be seeing a few projects in their final stages. I'm very excited to make this off my to-do list and get it delivered to it's owner. I haven't measured its height, but I'm pretty sure he's about 9 feet tall. He'll be standing in a yard soon, cheering on the Bulldogs and spreading Christmas cheer at the same time!

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!

It's a Jungle Out There!

Have I mentioned how I'm an awful procrastinator? Well, I'm sure I have. This project was put off for weeks, even though I had grand intentions of starting and getting everything painted early and that's all I talked about for a few days but, old habits die hard...and I painted a set just days before opening night. Here's some progress shots:







A backdrop for The Jungle Book Kids production opening on Friday. All in all, about 8 hours of painting. I kept the jungle simple and bold since it's a fun and cute play. I can't wait to see it under stage lights!

Nunsense is Habit Forming!

Here's a shot of the Nunsense set right before the curtains opened on Friday night. I love tackling huge projects like this, regardless of the stress it causes. 

Now that this project is over, perhaps I can get back into the blogging habit. I'm hoping to spend some time down in the studio too. So here's to a new week everyone! What are you hoping to work on now?

Big Projects, Back to Back

The month of April has flown by, and I haven't had the energy to update at all! Here's what I've been up to:

Painting a big red barn for the background of my work's Annual Talent Showcase. This year's theme was "The Grand Ole Opry" and I'm sad that I didn't get a chance to see my barn in action. The kiddo came down with strep throat the night of the performance, so we stayed home.


Here's a photo for context. The background is at least 20 feet wide and 11 feet tall. My thighs we burning for days after all the ladder climbing/moving. Oh man. I'm hoping to track down photos from the performance so I can show off the finished piece. It's already back in storage, so I can't take my own photos.


Next up, the background for my work's next play, Nunsense. We did Nunsense two years ago and we're bringing it back for an encore performance.


I painted the set last time, remember? I changed up the design a little, but all in all, an easy project. I'm finishing up all the props on Wednesday, fingers crossed. The curtains open on Friday!

Storm's A-Brewin'

I was recently commissioned to paint a background to be used during the local Easter Egg Hunt. Folks will be able to take photos of their children while they pose with the Easter Bunny in front of this 5' x 8' painting. I'm pretty excited to see this in action!

The first photo was to show how large this project is. This second photo shows more of the detail. I thought it would be neat to attach fabric flowers to the tree branches and grass to give the painting more depth. Now, I just have to locate the flowers.

I've been quiet lately, planning various projects and what-not. I can't believe that I've got projects through November! I'm loving it!

Also, those of you in the South, stay safe! These storms are crazy!