Kitchen floor mural

Living in California, earthquakes happen.  My kitchen has gotten a long hairline crack down the length of the floor.  The floor isn't very old and I am definitely not ready to tear out all of those travertine tiles just yet.  I am not new at using paint to camouflage things like wine stains on the bar top, and now cracks in tile.  It is kind of a joke in our house that if something needs hiding, I just paint a starfish on it.

I was a little nervous at first, since this isn't just a starfish- it requires more paint and more commitment.  What if I hate it?  How difficult would it be to scrape off?  When I paint a mural on a wall, I am not worried in the least since I can just cover it up.  Well, I decided to just do it.  

I started with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I have used this paint on many surfaces and have found that it definitely covers well.  I painted my sand color and then the blue base for the water and now I am too far along to quit.  I will post more photos as it progresses.  I have painted on my floor before but on a smaller scale.  I used clear sealer over it and no matter how much traffic it gets, the original crab I painted on my staircase landing still looks good!

Attempting Portrait Painting- Finally!

I have been painting for many years, and I love it!  I started with watercolors and gouache and then, oils and acrylics.  I have just always been very uncomfortable with painting people.  I should have faced that fear a long time ago and by now, I'd be finding it easy.  I mostly paint watercolor beaches and still life, and still life in oils.  My oil painting teacher said to just treat a face like any other object in a still life- or even turn the painting upside down. No big deal, really.  Anyway, I have pretty much avoided painting people and faces- except maybe small people in a beach painting.

I haven't been painting on a regular basis for the last several 

years.  Family matters have been a priority, but now its time to get back into my art.  To help with that, in August-AND on my birthday- I became a grandma.  Now that I have the cutest grand baby on the planet (in my totally non biased opinion) to paint- it is time to get over it and start working on painting people!  I have a desk full of attempts and do-overs, but all of my practice is starting to pay off.  I am starting to have some luck with baby faces and now am working hard at getting a baby face that looks like the baby I am painting specifically.

  I really am on a mission and hope to be able to paint this sweet baby by the time he gets out of high school.

Wish me luck!

"The scariest moment is always just before you start."
-Stephen King

Staircase Beach Mural- Work in Progress

I am having so much fun with this mural!  No rules- its my house and I can paint anything on the walls that I choose to paint.  I will probably be working on this for a long time and adding elements as I think of them.  After all the hard work of building the stairs, it is truly fun to just paint.

Hopefully, now that I am back to painting- watercolors will not be far off.  For now, lots of walls and ceilings to take care of- with fun mural painting here and there.

Beach House Stairs- Before and After

Stairs- Before

Stairs- After

Its been a long time (like a year) since I posted!  Just had a lot going on and no real time to paint.  We moved into our house a few months ago, and hope to NEVER move again.  We got a good buy on a home at the beach- good buy means lots of work to do.  The first thing we did was tear up the stairs.  Thick pink carpet with a runner on top.  After we got all of that removed, we had to rebuild the steps to cover the bare plywood.  I did not know that you could just go to Lowe's and buy stair treads and risers.  Of course, it would help if they all just fit- but, every step was a little different measurement!

My husband's problem was the actual construction.  My job was painting them.  I chose paint colors for the risers that had a sea glass feel- 7 shades of blues and greens.  The treads are white.

As soon as the stairs were painted and installed, it was time to start a beach mural on the three walls of the staircase.  The bottom photo shows the beginning of the mural- step one.  I will be posting the mural progress as I go along.  This is pure fun for me, and I think it will always be a work in progress as I add elements to it.

Anyway, I have been away from my blog for way too long and hope to stay with it!  For now, I have some wallpaper to go peel off.  Did I mention the house came complete with pink carpet, pink painted walls and wallpaper?  Good thing I like projects, as I think this will take a while.

Now, I am off to check out my favorite artist blogs- a little break, then to the wallpaper removal.

Watercolor Postcards- Oahu!

We are off to Oahu, Hawaii for a week!  Our son is stationed there- at Pearl Harbor/Hickam AB.  I like to paint watercolor postcards when I go places, and they are fun and quick.  This time, I also ordered some stamps to go on them with beachy themes from some of my watercolors.  I have not ordered personalized stamps before, but it was easy and they arrived in just a few days.

Looking forward to an awesome week with our sons and their wives!  Aloha!

Oahu Beach Triptych- finished!

Oahu Beach Watercolor Triptych

25X23, 50X23, 25X23

After a period of no available time to paint, I got back to this project and finished it.  It was really a lot of fun, even though it stressed me out during the process!  I have no problem painting just for the fun of it, or to put for sale in my Etsy shop- but when I am painting for people I know, I worry the whole time that it will be what they are imagining.

This project was a special request from my daughter in law, and the reference photo is one she took of her beach on Oahu at Pearl Harbor/Hickam AFB.  What she loves most about it is the gorgeous turquoise color of the water, so I really wanted to give her that.  This was definitely a larger scale than I usually paint, so it challenged me and that is a good thing.  The watercolors are now in the mail to Hawaii.

For the past year, I have been irregular at best with my painting and blogging.  A few things came up that required my attention and were more important than painting.  My mom has been in chemo and I go out of town a lot, so I just re-prioritized my life.  Things are settling down a bit so I am going to try to get back to daily (at least weekly) painting.  I have tried to get around to my fellow artists' blogs and see what's going on- but that has been spotty also.  Hope to see what everyone has been painting- and get back in touch!

Oahu Beach Triptych

Section 1 (left side) 23" X 25"

A triptych (/ˈtrɪptɪk/ trip-tik; (from the Greek adjective τρίπτυχοs ("three-fold"), from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections.

I am starting a huge project- a watercolor triptych of a beautiful beach on Oahu.  The reference photo was taken by my beautiful daughter in law of the beach she goes to on base (Pearl Harbor/Hickam AFB).  The total width will be 100" across and 23" high. Usually, what I call a large watercolor is 18 X24".  This is definitely a new challenge for me!  I am starting with the end sections to get the feel of it (besides, I am terrified of the 50" wide center piece- reloading my brush in the midst of painting water, etc.).

reference photo - Hickam Beach