My parents have been making me jealous updating their kitchen with new flooring, granite countertops, and tile back splashes. As they removed everything from the walls to paint, I thought to myself, I can’t let them put that old ugly shelf back on their wall. Their brand new kitchen deserves a new painting! I thought what a perfect Christmas present it would be.

I started the painting in my office before Thanksgiving and had my family over. I thought if I keep the door closed hopefully my mother will not peek in. But ofcourse, she had to give my aunt a tour of our new house. As they entered my office, I thought hopefully they will not turn around and see the painting. Sure enough, they did! I just held my breath and hoped I could keep a straight face and lie. As my mother examined the painting and said how she liked how I did the edging with the torn raised wallpaper, she asked “Where is this going?” As I laughed inside, I responded with a straight face “I’m not sure yet.” and she bought it! Then she said, “You know you could paint me a painting one of these days.” And she’s said that a couple times since then. I just think Christmas is almost here only a few more times to lie.

The other tricky part about this painting is I had to quickly guesstimate what size would look good in the space and my mother keeps changing the color of the wall! But I think I finally have her convinced that yellow on top and red below looks the best. It will also match the painting very well. I will post a picture of the finished painting on my parent’s wall after Christmas.

Bathroom before redesign (Already removed mirror and towel bar)

I was stuck with starch white walls, standard bathroom mirror, over-sized and outdated towel bar and toilet roll holder, and classic 90’s shinny gold light fixture.

Bathrooms are a good place to put wallpaper and patterns on the walls. I found wallpaper that I wanted to put in my 1/2 bath.

Only problem, it was going to cost me over $200 just in wallpaper for that small space! So I decided on the alternative, paint. Only $20 from Lowe’s, now that’s a price I can live with. But I still wanted some pattern and texture to add interest and separation from the other rooms.

I started by ripping down all of the outdated fixtures, and patching the walls. Next, put on a coat of olive green as my base. I really liked the pattern of the circles, but wanted them to be more organic. So I used a metal can and taped fabric over it to make my stamp. I think it turned out better than the wallpaper.

To add the finishing touches, I had my husband help me install the new modern mirror/medicine cabinet, towel and toilet roll holders with a dark bronze finish. I was able to paint the light fixture to make it look like the other brushed bronze items and switched out the globes. Saved me about $75 with not replacing the entire fixture.

I am very happy with the end result!

Bathroom redesign complete! (The picture is a little skewed - two images placed together)

Some 30 days later, I have finished my first painting. As promised, here is the finished product:

What I love about this painting is not only the end result, but also what I have learned. Having a plan was essential, there is no way it would have come out the way it did without a good plan of action. Patience is key, unless you are going to paint like Pollock by throwing the paint around. I did not have a deadline since I was the client for a change, and it was wonderful and calming to paint a few hours each day. Once I started to become tired or agitated I stopped, because I knew if I continued I would make poor decisions and ruin the painting and craftsmanship. I did not want to rush through it, although, my husband did not appreciate the couch being in the middle of the living room so I could paint it hanging on the wall. I had no choice, I was out of room!

The style and subject that I choose I believe was a good choice because I could skew the tree without it looking strange, especially working with a large size canvas; and it was fairly easy to paint. One major lesson learned, was if you know you will need to be using the exact color over a large area, make sure you have plenty mixed and put it in a container with a lid. That way you don’t run out and have to try mixing the exact color, because it’s not possible.

I am very happy with my painting and proud. It definitely puts a smile on my face when I walk into my living room. The paint colors, size, and canvas material is what makes it original, even with using a famous picture as my inspiration.

Read “Painter? Well maybe.”

Ever wish you could go back to high school art class to paint pottery and have it fired, or even for the first time? I found a few local places:
Mudslingers Pottery - Concord, NC
Pottery Place Studios - Concord, NC
Meg-art - Huntersville & Mooresville, NC

I visited Pottery Place Studios, which is near Concord Mills, on Saturday for a friend’s birthday outing. They had a wide range of small to large pottery ready to paint; including vases, containers, sculptures, tiles and more. The price includes the pottery, paint, and firing. They had a large tile of all the available colors to see what they look like after they’re fired with one and two coats. It was very easy to do even if you have never painted pottery before. It was very relaxing outing and something new and fun to do. Most of those places even have ladies’ night, parties, and classes.

I get to pick up the tile that I painted in a week, I hope it turns out how I imagined. I will upload a picture of the finished product once I have it.

I have a love for big art. But it can be expensive, and I’m on a budget. Solution: Make my own.

First, I figured out what size would look good above my couch with keeping what I was going to paint in mind, took the measurements and headed to Lowe’s. I found some great cheap wood that was 2 x 2 x 96”, I used 2 to create my 30 x 60” frame, and had them cut it of course.

I found a photo of a tree in Charleston that I wanted to recreate with a modern look. I traced the photo in Illustrator, so I could easily simplify the photo (like color by numbers). Since, what I would be painting would be simple, I wanted to add some texture and depth. I found a nice ivory raised patterned fabric (I also used to recover my dining chairs). The paint came from what I had left over from painting other rooms and projects.

I would guesstimate that I spent about $3 wood + $19 fabric + $3 brushes = $25. I don’t think that’s too bad! The cheapest I’ve seen in stores is usually around $500; and it is not just about the price difference, but I got a personal piece of artwork I am proud of and it ties all of the colors of my place together.

I will upload the finished painting when I finish! ha