These little rocks were painted just for fun, although some were commissions. The crab and the fish are painted on smooth flat stones and are only a couple inches long. The Frogs are pretty much life size. And one is actually painted on a piece of lumpy concrete! Can you tell?
This vintage all wood bench is painted with a view of a Water Lily pond with unusual red, pink and yellow pads. A large fuchsia flower jumps off the surface with intense realism. I love the way the light hits the water at the top of the scene and how you can look into the murkiness of foliage below the water. Of course there is a frog!! I captured these botanical beauties at the Minneapolis Zoo a few years ago. I painted the graceful legs of the bench in four shades of green that darken as they descend, with gold and copper colored highlights. It is currently available for sale at $175 plus shipping and handling. The seat is 20 1/2″ X 14″ and is 16″ off the floor. The handles add an additional 3″. Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing this table.
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.
This tall narrow mural depicts a life size (baby) giraffe as a growth chart. Showing you the scale of it is the young man we shall be charting. Isn’t he cute? Well of course he is; He’s my grandson! The giraffe holds a measuring ribbon in his mouth while down at the bottom a frog holds it taut. Watch out for the bee in the high grass! I have included a couple of ‘in progress’ photos taken before the ribbon was added, notice the close up of the giraffe’s face. A unique feature of this mural is that it is hinged in the middle to fold for easy transport or storage, kudos to my son’s father-in-law for building it!
