Sometimes I decorate...

Because I mostly work in empty houses, I LOVE it when I get to collaborate with another creative person on a project. This week I got to create a backdrop for Sarah Jane Photography's Holiday set. Sarah came up with the idea to use only neutrals and to paint the fireplace and tile white...while I designed and executed the wall finish and the mantle and fireplace displays. Such a fun project! I can't wait to see her portrait work in front of this set. She plans to add a crystal chandelier over the fireplace, and a linen upholstered armchair, which I cannot WAIT to see!!! I think these family portraits will be super classy!

Here are the details:

The background wall color is Sherwin Williams "Alpaca", which I am falling a little bit in love with...it's a grayish lavendar that changes color as the day progresses. Love that!  The birch trees were painted with a pearl glaze and white paint.

One of my favorite cheapskate tricks for holiday decor is to buy the 5 dollar plastic pine garland and then completely cover it with spray on snow. I added a few  'expensive' floral picks of long pine needles covered in crystals  and pine cones.  I tucked in disco balls ( my signature thing!) and hung lots of crystal chandelier drops from the garland. A little burlap ribbon was all we needed to complete the look.  I found the burlap stockings at Hobby Lobby and scored them for 7 bucks a piece!

I really love the way the firebox turned out.  I used the ceramic logs that were in place and added some pillar candles, disco balls, 'diamond' vase filler, large plastic diamonds and fake snow.  I can't wait to do this in my own fireplace! The diamond vase filler and big fake diamonds were from the bridal aisle ( which mostly gives me "cliche' overload hives") at Hobby Lobby.

Just for fun...Here's the 'before'... (well, actually 'in progress', the before was a fireplace wall hiding behind a bunch of hanging backdrops)

Quite the transformation!!!!!

This Girl is on Fire!

There are so many subjects on my list of 'things to paint someday', and I am THRILLED when i finally get to cross one off.

Last week, I finally painted a gigantic, vintage/retro looking fashionable LADY in a massage therapy spa.  I was sooo nervous about this mural, but I did some research (watched several 'how to paint human eyes videos on youtube!) and I am rather proud of myself for the outcome. She is realistic, her eyes match up and she has a retro flair that I'm pretty crazy about!
This photo stinks....but the room has NO OVERHEAD LIGHT. It's a massage treatment room, after all, so low lighting is key. I painted the whole thing is 'almost' darkness, so i would know how it would be viewed by clients.  There is a cherry blossom tree in the corner, which is heavily foiled and painted over with bright pink and white and is garish with the lights on....therefore I shall not show you a photo lest I ruin my reputation for being really good at color selection.   But in low lighting, it is gorgeous.  You can see some of the cherry blossoms creeping up into the girl's hair in the right hand corner.

Last year, I painted the reception area in this Spa. I trowelled  a Champagne Mist Lusterstone base, and then created a metallic foil mural of reeds and cranes over the top of it.

I wanted to keep the color scheme similar and use a lot of foils again for my 'lady mural'.

I was given an inspiration photo, which was a digital artwork of a woman's face with fire, and melted plastic superimposed over it (which sounds creepy, but it isn't.)   I had to 'clean up' and simplify the image to fit into my skill set  (wish I could paint totally realistic looking fire!!!!)  and I decided to use Gold Hologram foil in the fire areas of the painting.  The hologram foil changes colors as you move around the room, making it look like it is actually on fire. I used tons of red, purple, pink, gold, and hologram foil for both the Lady and the Cherry Blossom Tree murals.
One thing that occured, that I hadn't really planned on, was that our inspiration photo had no hair, no ears, a missing eyebrow...a lot of anatomical things were missing. The more detail I put into her face, the more obvious it became that she needed hair ( and at least one ear!). I experimented with a few methods of hair painting and I really like this simple suggestion of hair. I think the simply outlined ear and the faintest suggestion of a neck bring it all together and complete the painting. Without them, my eye went right to the places that were missing body parts.

I had a lot of fun painting this mural. It was a nice pace, in a quiet place, that was very relaxing and free of pressure. I felt free to experiment with some different techniques.   I need more jobs like that!

In a few weeks I will return and create another lady mural in the nail salon area of the Spa. I'm really excited to step out of my comfort zone again--it's so important to try new things as an artist!

Breast Cancer Awareness "Pink Collection"

It's been awhile since I created a 'collection'....but this one has a lot of special meaning to me and I'd love to share with you the whys and hows of these pieces.



There's a little back-story to this collection. Actually a lot of back-story. I'll start with the the most important piece.  I'm in love with a  man whose mother I never got to know. She died of cancer when Mike was a senior in High School.  I know, because of Mike's gentle spirit and kindness that she must have been one heck of a sweet woman.  Sometimes during family get-togethers, they will talk about her. Her recipes, the things she liked or said....but it's no substitute for KNOWING someone.
Sometimes in the last 4 years I would pray to her and I don't know if she heard me, or if she delivered but it still made me feel close to her in some way.
There is tragedy in the whole thing, but for me personally, I was never close to my first mother-in-law. She struggled with painful shyness and was a hard woman to get to know.She was extraordinarily partial to boys and I am a girl factory.
 I was kind of hoping for a second chance.
I wanted to do something to honor the woman I will never know, but whom I owe so much. She raised an amazing son and I just want her to know, in some small way, that it means the world to me.


So,  here's the rest of the story.
  I go through these phases where I create art just for the fun of it. Then I get burned out, or busy and I abandon ship or walk away or just say 'yuck, i don't like it'.  I have a whole stack of rejects all the time. Or if something doesn't sell, I layer over it and tweak it until I fall in love.(then I don't WANT to sell it)  That's the real reason why my art has sooo much  texture. There are usually at least 2 paintings layered over each other.  So I realized my pile of rejected/abandoned canvases was getting kind of uncomfortably large and my bank account was getting kind of uncomfortably  small and I thought 'you really need to get the hell off of Pinterest and create some art.'  But I wanted it to be meaningful and something to 'give back' in some way. I put a little deadline on myself of October, and realized that is breast cancer awareness month. It was all just so obvious what I had to do.

So I got to work. Since I can't create a entire collection of artwork based on someone I never knew, I decided to make each piece be about some strong  woman I knew. Cancer warriors, mothers, Survivors of any kind....

Yo Viv!
Art has to come from somewhere....some deep place, some tender spot, to be really good art.
My Grandmother died recently and I wanted to commemorate things about her. I pulled out a coral pink canvas that I actually loved, but didn't sell and started layering things on top of it. I chose that particular painting to honor her because it has these circular 'cookies' on it....and as my cousin Michael said in her eulogy...."She was the only person who would stuff you full of cookies one visit, and then ask you if  you'd gained weight the next."

A long time ago, I cut out this heart with bra sizes all over it. I knew I would use it in a collage someday. My Grandmother, while she was living was a breast cancer survivor. (She died of old age). She also loved to quilt and so I added some buttons   and some very old straight pins that are still in their original roll.

 I made a copy of a photo of my Grandfather as a boy with some of his cousins or his brothers, and some headless women  behind them. That photo just cracks me up...He was just the cutest thing!!! (He's on the end, smiling.)

I added some vintage pink sequins and some glitter and then poured resin over the whole thing. I love it.
I named her (all of these paintings are women)  "Yo, Viv!".    My Grandma was named Vivan and I miss her.

Thank God I'm Pretty
When I first started creating artwork to sell, I entered photos of my work in a local art fair. I had to be judged by 3 'jury' members...all of whom most not have gotten the memo about how much art I had donated to their annual charity auction because I was unceremoniously rejected from participating. They must not have gotten the memo that my donated pieces had all sold too, and I was creating lots of commissioned pieces for some of their biggest spenders.  They really should check their memos more often. After I said 'screw you!!!' about 9,000 times, I decided it was a God thing and I wasn't ready anyway.  I started just experimenting and playing around with painting over studs and beads and all kinds of crazy raised textures I created with some of my faux painting products.   Long story short...I had this one canvas, that was from that original attempt to be accepted in my own town....that had a ton of texture on it but was kind of a painful memory.  She was sad, she needed to be happy.

 What's happier than a huge pile of confetti?.




See....I told you.  It's good to be her and that Arts' Council can kiss her ass. She's got her fur coat, and her  tiara and her gloved middle finger up, cause dammit....she's pretty and she doesn't care if you like her.

When I was finished with this painting, I decided her name should be Barb.  She reminds me of one of my mom's dearest friends who was not only gorgeous but hilarious and she too was taken too soon from breast cancer.  Had she been brunette, I'd have named her Jeanne because another one of my mom's closest friends ALSO died of cancer.  (Cancer SUCKS!!!!!) But Jeanne did always have a gigantic smile of her face.

It's a party!  A bridge playing party!

I wish I had 'bridge' ladies. My mom has played  bridge once a month for like the last 35 years or something crazy like that with the same group of women. Sadly, two of them are now in heaven but the bridge ladies still get together, even if no one has seem them shuffle a deck in at least 10 years.


Bitter is the New Black
If I'm being honest, I created this Bitter collage because I thought it was hilarious. But then, I started pulling together pieces together to layer on top of it  that appealed to me, and in some subconscious way, they all pointed to a period in my life that was not really funny at all.
 I hesitate to explain what it's about, I don't want to ruin it for people. But in a nutshell, ugly divorce...bad, bad times...   It changed me. Like it changed my DNA. Seriously.

Every single little piece in this collage has a deeper meaning to me :Game pieces, a tarnished tiara, dress patterns, lots of broken jewelry.  

I love this page taken from an old Love Letter Writing hand book!  

Everything is covered in resin, which is becoming one of my favorite techniques!

Fly

Every family has it's legends and lore. One of my family's is a story that I will not share here, out of respect for my mother, but the word FLY has a lot of meaning for us. I personally find it whimsical and  humorous and having just reluctantly pushed my oldest baby bird out of the next with instructions to SOAR!!!!....I like this painting a lot.  I want to get the word 'fly' tattooed on my foot with 4 little silhouetted birdies....but out of respect for my mother.....le sigh...

 I really like the juxtaposition of the sweet frame, the doily fragments, the skeletonized leaves that look like wings....and the big, bold, in your face FLY! It's almost like graffiti. It is a command. "Fly, Girl!"  

Like the others, this one is coated in resin.

My mom is also a cancer survivor. 

PINK

The final piece in this collection I will have a very hard time letting go of. I am soooo in love with it. It's called PINK and it's my favorite, and also the biggest piece in the collection.

Here's the point at which I start blubbering like a baby....but it was created to honor my  daughters. Who are my favorite survivors of all. I want to be just like them when I grow up. 

I created this piece awhile back and it was glazed over with a warm amber-y color that I used to use on all my paintings to age them. I've kind of grown past the need to make everything seem old so i got out my trusty can of Dragon Fruit Pink paint and went to town. I added some bright red polka dots to fun it up and my signature drips of paint and now I love it.  

It symbolizes everything I want for my kids. "Nothing less than the best".  

I hope you have enjoyed hearing the stories behind this collection. 

Paint Like Me Parties!

I just wanted to update some information about my new 'baby'...my new business, "Paint Like Me Party!".  Things are going really well and I feel like the biz is growing at a very manageable rate,especially given that I am still a  (pretty much) full time Decorative Artist and (without a doubt!) full time mom of 4 teenage girls! But I've done some tweaking and I wanted to share with you.


First of all...all the information about "Paint Like Me Party!" is here, in case you were wondering.

The news is that if you are in the Decatur/Warrensburg/Forsyth area, you can schedule to have your Paint Like Me Party in the art classroom at The Perfect Pair.
This is a GREAT way to host a party and not have to worry about a. cleaning your house or b. getting paint on anything. (Not that you will get paint on anything, I just know how ladies like to worry) or c. If you want to have a really big party, but don't have the space.  They are working on putting together a calendar of available dates and times for use of the classroom, but for now just contact me at chicpaint@gmail.com   or by calling The Perfect Pair and 217-672-8822 to check availability. (Private parties held at TPP require a fee of 30.00 for use of the room)
I love  teaching in the  big HUGE! BRIGHT! classroom with plenty of room to spread out.


Also, during our couple of breaks we will take, there is a beautiful boutique for you to explore and lots of fun, one- of- a- kind items to buy. Their stock is constantly changing, it's so much fun to shop there!

The second piece of news is that I had my first Couples' Class and it was a smashing success! I had an absolute ball, and I must say that the guys REALLY got in to it. In fact the one student I dubbed 'my star student', was a hubby. (Which I must say, he was a bit smug about ;)

The couples did an amazing job of working together to make sure their canvases looked similar enough to hang side by side. I was so impressed!

* Can you guess which one was my 'star student'?  No, you can't because EVERYONE'S turned out amazing!




And finally, there have been a few canvases added to the choices of what to paint. So please, check the gallery at Paint Like Me Party's facebook page.  
 I am crazy in love with my 2 newest....The Autumn themed "Fifty Shades of Fall"

and the Holiday themed "Vintage Joy".  Both canvases have my signature HEAVY TEXTURE and lots of stuff going on in the background. 'Fifty Shades' has a background completely covered with silvery black mica flakes and 'Vintage Joy' has a sparkle paste that is crackled over a bright blue base. Fun fun!

Both of these canvases also use an embedded technique (for the leaves and ornaments) that  give a super crisp and graphic, can't- mess- it -up outline for the shapes.



My favorite newsy little bonus, is that my home studio was featured on the Sarah Jane Photography blog. The day she came to visit, I was working on Fifty Shades of Fall, and you can see more detail shots here!

I am crazy in love with the photo collages she created!  Good things are happening here at Paint Like Me Party!!!
Peace, Out!

Stir Sticks Collages

Hey all!  I had a ton of fun in my studio this week creating these stir stick collages....I had a custom order and decided to make a few more while I was at it.  I knew my laziness (ie  not cleaning off stir sticks after they are used) would come in handy someday. I LOVE these!  I love the idea of making art out of stuff you have laying around in abundance....and painty stir sticks, I have many.

"Brights"   9x 11

"Black and White"  9 x11  (also has lots of sparkley silver!) 

"Blues and Greens"  9x11

These three are for sale ("Brights", "Black and White" and "Blues and Green") through my  facebook page.    Punch & Sizzle.  Each 'painting' is 30.00 plus shipping and is framed without glass.    While you're there, I'd love it if you would like my page (if...of course, you like what you see!)  

You can even commission your own colorway!  Custom colors are 35.00 (plus shipping)  and are framed without glass.  

Finally painted some Chevron!

Finally had an opportunity to paint a Chevron feature wall, I've been waaaaaaiiiiitiiinnggg!!!
One of my bestie bestest friends is expecting a baby girl in October and we will be Chevroning her nursery soon, but yesterday I got to chevron another baby room, in 2 shades of yummy pink!

There's all kinds of info all over the intertubes about how to do this, but I think you should let a professional do it for you. It's really mathy, and worky. So....just call someone who knows what they're doing.  Here's the during, ready to be painted up!




And...AFTER!!!!
Can't wait to receive photos of the room assembled.

Sometimes things need to be said....

Being a professional artist isn't for wimps.

HERE'S THE DEAL:

Many decorative artists have learned what they do through years and years and years of trial and error. Many of us have college degrees in Fine Art, or Applied Arts, Interior Design or Graphic Design.  Oftentimes we have paid thousands of dollars to take product specific classes, thus keeping us informed on the latest and greatest techniques available for your beautiful home. Our entire lives are devoted to the pursuit of seeing beautiful things, filing away ideas for someday. Often  our studios are filled with products just waiting for that perfect situation. Our bodies take a beating, plaster is heavy, ceiling work is difficult. Assembling scaffold is not for the weak. It takes an extraordinary amount of time to stay current on design trends. We swallow our fashion pride on a daily basis, to be covered in paint for you.  Many of us have invested huge amounts of our lives to building a business, trying every type of marketing there is just to get that ONE job.....
And now we have to maintain webpages, fanpages, write blogs, pin photos. All of this takes time, ....all of this costs money.
There is a price for admission into our world, and although our work is oftentimes magical....we do not just wave a magic wand. This job takes knowledge, unbridled creativity, guts, know-how,confidence,stamina,about a bazillion tools, and plain old HARD WORK. And sometimes MATH is involved! I know I made it LOOK easy....that's because I know what I'm doing!!!!!

I'll never understand the client who wants a professional artist to come into their home, but wants to pay no more than pennies a square foot. Flooring is many dollars a square foot, so is wallpaper, granite, cabinetry.....
CUSTOM means 'that's going to cost a little more than something you can just go buy in a store'.... Why are some people surprised by this? 

That's why we make you sign on the line, to be sure you understand exactly what you are asking for.

Yes, yes, there is that small percentage of the 'artistic' population who does think they can just smear a little glaze around and get paid a bunch of money for it.
But most of us are busting our asses! For you to have the prettiest...whatever...We take pride in a job well done, we live for your approval! It may not be brain surgery but it matters to US!!! And we know it matters to you, or you wouldn't have asked us here in the first place.


I JUST WANT TO PAINT PRETTY THINGS!!!!.....but I also want you to care.