Animal Wednesday: Does a starfish count?

This is what I've been busy doing this past week. It's a birthday surprise for my friend Barb while she's away on vacation in Arizona! She said to do whatever I wanted, but trust me I had some limits here.

Barb is ultra traditional and her kitchen has been the same for the past twenty-two years! I did the last theme as well, black cats and red/white gingham touches.

I took all of the kitty pictures out of the frames and replaced them with four lovely poppy paintings, one of course by Georgia O'Keefe. Then I went to work on this wall, all free-form with very little pre-drawing. (I hate to have to erase lines after!)

This is a very small wall so I kept the design light and flowing. This wall is to the left of the step up into her kitchen. The starfish, sand dollar, beach glass and shells were added because of all the time Barb has spent on Cape Cod at her family's treasured cottage.

(Here's a bit of detail. I hope they enlarge.)

I had a hard time with the shadowing because the wall kept resisting the glaze. Shadowing is my favorite part! That, and detail. Oh well, it will have to do.

And YES, this is what I was painting when I fell backwards and hit my head.

I can't believe I didn't drag my red paintbrush down the wall.

 

So, Happy Animal Wednesday from me and Grady, my helper ;)

Cats and Pratfalls

Today was an interesting day.

It started out by me taking a couple of photos of this cute fish and cat teapot that my sister bought me when she came to visit on Saturday. We love going to second-hand stores and antique shops. For now I've placed him on the shelf between the kitchen and the dining room. I think he's smitten with that bunny!

Here is another view with the light from my studio doorway in the background. I'm standing in my galley kitchen in front of my stove.

Thank you pat. I love this little guy! he makes a wonderful addition to all of my blue and white pieces. (But you knew he would!)

This handsome, adorable awesome guy is Grady, my friend's cat. They're away in Sedona, Arizona for a much needed vacation. Grady has special needs because he's a herpes kitty with major sinus issues. Let's just say it was a very messy nose day today!

That said, I'm doing a mural (small trompe l'oeil actually) for his mom's birthday while she's away. I have carte blanche (which I love!)   

Grady felt the need to help. Um, I don't think so!

This is how he watched me when he wasn't chewing and batting my paintbrushes all over the kitchen or trying to spill my paint water or trying to walk through my pallette!

Helper? Um, not so much!

Good company? You bet!

What happened next was not so pleasant.

I knew I was pushing it because I didn't have the right ladder, I didn't wear the right shoes for support and I hadn't eaten any lunch which is NOT good for low blood sugar.

I remember falling in slow motion but still feeling panicked. I'm not so young and limber now. My body twisted in defense reaction and tried to right itself but there's a high guard on the stepstool I was on and my foot got tangled.

 From 3 feet up I went straight back to the floor with nothing to hold on to. I had a paintbrush in one hand, a paint tray in the other and I went CRASH in a very ugly, scary way.

My head hit the floor and bounced twice.

I could have hit the edge of the stove but I somehow missed it.

I have never felt so blessed for a FAT ASS in my whole life because that may have been what saved me! I fell to a half-sitting position and then my head snapped back.

Um, hellloooo, flashes of Natasha Richardson here!

From now on I really have to pay attention to my concerns ( i.e. changing shoes, getting right ladder) instead of brushing them off.

Take the time to do the right thing.

I really do want to be here for a zillion more years. If I'm not mindful of the needs of my aging self, I may not have to worry about aging anymore.

Moral of the story: if something doesn't feel right from the start, it probably isn't.

And oh, I'm sore as all get out. Ugh. My aching backside.

;)

Animal Wednesday : Double-Dog Dare

A few years back I painted a baby's room with two full size horses on one wall and their little Corgi, Tess on the opposite wall. The texture was lumpy and difficult to get the fine detail but I think Tess approved! To see the horses on my website, click here. I always knew drawing on the walls would pay off :)

Happy Animal Wednesday!!

IF : Repair with flair

I was all over the map with ideas for this topic. I thought of some good ones, but for the most part I didn't feel like drawing any of them or I just didn't have the time because a few of them were elaborate and would be time consuming. I found myself scanning the room for inspiration, and there it was. A mural in my living room in the style of chinoiserie. I usually end up renting old places with character, but along with character comes wall cracks and blemishes that need repair. I'm lucky to always find landlords that allow me to go wild! What I love about chinoiserie is you can make it go on and on, adding branches and flowers, bugs and animals...whatever you need to cover the imperfections in the wall. Of course, I added ravens and pears! We have a few pieces of black furniture, so what better compliment than ravens? So there you have it, my way of repairing hairline cracks. Let the next tenants spackle! (Click to enlarge.)

(I've also included another painting I did on canvas with a chinoiserie wallpaper inspired background.)

Animal Wednesday : Hey, who's that?

I found another image to use for this week while I was looking at my website. I'm often asked to paint client's pets on their walls in life size. Crazy, huh? So this is a Corgi named Tessa I painted in a little girl's room. She was my biggest critic but nodded her approval once it was complete. Woof!

(Please go to my other entry below.)

Happy Animal Wednesday!