I painted three large dragons on the bedroom walls of a ten year old boy who loves these mythical creatures. His mother asked him to find his favorite dragons from books and from the internet, however she did not tell him why she wanted them. I based my painting on the images he had chosen. He returned from summer camp to find I had painted a mural on two of his walls while he was away. Wow! He was so excited with his surprise when he came home!! A real fun project for me!
This mural with a Trompe L’oeil wood surface is painted on the porch of my own home. For more than 25 years these walls were just a slightly textured, ugly brown, metal surface. Then ten years ago I decided to paint it! Thank you to my sister-in-law for suggesting the faux barn board wood surface. On the wall which is viewed directly from inside my dining room, I painted rambling wild Roses that ‘bloom’ all year long! On one of the sides I created a strawberry jar loaded with luscious berries. There are bees that visit the flowers and a butterfly by the strawberries. On the other side is a squirrel which initially even startled my cats. They have ignored it ever since! In the winter I hang baskets of artificial green plants to keep a little summertime always just on the other side of the sliding door.
Enter this house through the mud room and take a moment to read the walls! As you open the door you are face to face with bold letters stating IN THIS HOUSE, followed by the family’s philosophy! I painted several quotes and paraphrases in black on the yellow walls, from classic sci-fi and fantasy movies, television and books. What sources do you recognize? Harry Potter! Star Wars! Star Trek! Goonies! Lord of the Rings! Hitchhiker’s Guide and more. Then when you exit the house look up over the door and see the directive from the Princess Bride! What a fun mural this was to paint. Or should I say is … We expect to add additional phrases over time.
This bathroom evolved over time with multiple projects. Purple Wisteria hangs over a custom cut mirror. Later on, the stone arch was added so as to merge the mural into the wall when the bathroom was repainted a pale yellow. A Trompe L’oeil Wisteria blossom ‘sits’ on a bench which was painted the same lavender as the vanity. Tiles were painted with a special paint that bakes in an ordinary oven. Since this type of paint is more limiting I chose to do the Water Lilies, frogs and dragonflies in a style inspired by Japanese brushwork.
