Painter Girl

Last Day at this Job

Today I finished up at the Four Little Girls House.  Wait until you see this awesome bathroom for the oldest and girl and one of the other younger ones!

Again, I wish I could take all the creative credit for this design concept, but no can do!  I saw this on one of my favorite blog sites, Design Inspiration, Planet Stencil Library.  (Look under May 2007).  I  did not use the templates you can purchase through the Stencil Planet Library because I wanted to try this new compass I just purchased through Micro-Mark.  The tool was inexpensive, $26 and allows me to make circles up to 6' in diameter.  What I did for this job was make 3 sets of concentric circles, 4 circles to a set.  The sets are small, medium and large.  Using a low tack, repositionable spray adhesive, I placed the sets of circles on the wall where I thought I wanted them.  After a little adjusting, I just traced the outline of each circle on the wall.  I used a good angle brush, like a sash brush and just painted freehand.  All paints, including the background paint, is from Ben Moore's new line of paints called Aura.  This paint line has the very rich, deep tones and covers completely with 2 coat.  This deep red pictured was covered almost completely with 1 coat!  I only had to roll a light 2nd layer on.  The two other walls in this large bath are painted solid.  One walls is the purple you see in the circles and the other is the orange from the center circles. 

There is a very long hallway on the second floor, that connects to the 2 story foyer wall I had done previously.  I did one wall to match the foyer and the long hallway was done in stripes.  The stripes alternate, Sage Green Lusterstone and the 3 color glaze from the foyer. 

Here's a close up of the main wall that is seen from the foyer.

 

 

 

This shot shows the foyer wall I had done previously (on the right), the new wall on the left, and the stripes at the end of the hall. Oops... and there's my ladder, not quite out of site!  The circle bath is at the end of this hall, off to the left. There is one bedroom off to the right of the stripes.

Here's the opposite end of the hall, where there are a lot of stripes!  The hall is about 20' long, with 4 bedrooms and a bath at this end of the house.

This angle really gives you a sense of the length of the hall. 

I had a great time at this house!  I will return again in a few weeks to do 2 of the girls bedrooms, the laundry room and a piece of furniture.  They are off for vacation next week and so I am I!  Stay tuned...

One room done, 2 to go...

On Friday I was able to complete one of the girls bathrooms, but did not have a chance to post.  This bathroom is occupied by a 12 y/o girl and a 7 y/o girl.  They wanted a very girlie theme and already had some neat French themed pictures and accessories.  That was my inspiration for this room.

This is painted over the jacuzzi. I did a soft striae finish on all walls in this room first (except the wall with the storefront mural). 

Here is a close up view of the cat. 

I added the draped fabric and rod last minute because I felt the wall needed a little something extra. 

Close up of shoes, purse and pearls in "window

Another view of the "window".

I certainly cannot take full credit for this design concept.  A friend of mine, who is a decorative painter in Florida, did this Parisian theme a while ago and sent me the pictures.  She also was kind enough to share with me her sketch for the shoes and dress, so I could make an overhead.  I invite you to visit Tammi Lathum's website, Matilda Jane to view some of her wonderful work.  Thanks Tammi!  Other credits for this mural belong to Jan Dressler stencils for the hat design.  I used a stencil designed by Karrie Butler for the cat, but I believe I bought that at a close out sale.  I see P.J. Tetrault carries some of Karrie's stencils. The curtain rod design, Twist Finial, is by Lynn Brehm, Natural Accents, and lastly, the Small Paisley design on the purse and the Brocade Design on the draped fabric are from Royal Design Studio.  For some of this mural I projected the outline of the design on the wall and then free hand painted.  I used a stencil for the cat, but then ended up hand painting the majority of the detail.  I used Tammi's dress, hanger, shoes and window front design from an overhead projected and hand painted.

Note:  grrr.. I have just spent a good 30 minutes trying to edit this page to make the captions line up with the correct picture, etc.  It looks fine on my screen, but then when I publish the post, everything is off! This happens constantly to me. Does anyone else have this problem?  I think maybe TypePad is not Mac friendly!  I am out of time now, but will have to try to resolve this later!

When Clients Try To Run Your Business

Nothing burns my fuel more than a client who thinks they have the right to run my business for me. Two recent examples are:

1) The woman who called me repeatedly over a wkend, leaving messages that told me what time she would like me to come by and meet with her painter to discuss his application of the base coat and for me to pick up the contract and deposit so she would not have to mail it, plus she would then tell me what date I would start this job.  Several things were wrong with the messages she left for me.  One, I had just spent 2 hrs (free of charge) with her, her husband and painter, the previous day.  We discussed in detail what her painter's role would be, and I also discussed my schedule, which would not allow this job to start for a good month.  I called this client back and calmly informed her that I would not be able to meet again with her painter, but would be happy to discuss any questions/concerns he had on the phone.  I also reminded her of my work schedule and estimated start date for this job.  I received my 4 sample boards in the mail with a very cool note saying they decided not to go ahead with this job.  I was relieved.  This was just not a good fit for me.  Never once did this couple thank me for my time.  (Two hr consult, plus prep work for quote).  I don't want to work for a client who does not appreciate the hard work and care I put into each and every job I do.

I take my work very seriously.  I have never presented myself to a client with nothing less than professionalism.  I am always on time.  I always call the day before to confirm my arrival.  I am very considerate when working on the job site.  I always leave the site cleaner than when I arrived.  I do not complete a job until I am sure the client is 100% satisfied.  I always work with a contract so we both are clear as to what is expected.

2)  Another client, who I have worked with before, had me quote on 2 good sized bathrooms for their daughters and a 22' long hallway.  Labor intensive finishes, plus costly materials will be used in all three areas.  The last time I did work for this family was two years ago.  Obviously, prices have gone up.  I spent a lot of time on their quote.  I knew they would be shocked at the cost because their previous work done did not involve such labor intensive finishes nor such costly materials.  Their Wish List was extensive.  I quoted each area with two prices.  One, the original concept and the second was a scaled down version, alternative option.  I also included a 5 % discount for the total cost if they did all 3 areas at once.  The client sent me an email saying they would proceed with the work "Under these terms".  "These terms" stated that all work would be done in each room, the original concept, not the alternative option, for $x amount of dollars.  This turned out to be almost $900 less than the quote. My response, once I recovered from their boldness, was to calmly explain the high material costs for this project, as well as the extensive labor involved.  Some times people just have no idea of all the prep work and how long it actually takes to do certain finishes.  This client was very receptive to my response, selected the alternate options for 2 of the 3 areas to reduce their costs, and even appologized to me the first day I arrived at their home to begin the job.  They told me they had no idea how expensive the materials were.  I had itemized the cost of the major supplies I would be using for this job. 

Some times you win, some times you lose in these situations, but I feel it is important to not be bullied or unreasonabley compromise.  Each party must be willing to work toward a solution that they both feel comfortably satisfied.  You don't want an unhappy or angry client and you certainly do not want to feel your working for less than you are worth.  Each client is more potential business.  Sometimes, like the first client above though, it is just not a good fit and it's best to let the job go.  When this happens, another, more interesting and lucrative job always come along!  We don't have a crystal ball, but you have to trust your instincts and have faith when a situation just does not feel right.

Four Little Girl Family

Today I began about a week's worth of work at "The Four Little Girl Family".  I have done some other work in this home over the past 2 yrs.  I will call them "The Four Little Girl Family" because, this couple have 4 lovely daughters, ranging in ages 13 down to about 3.  Mom & Dad have this large house very well organized!  I am always amazed when I return to this house to see how they manage to have 4 kids, a lot of toys, sports equipment, etc. and everything seems to have its' place.  The house looks lived in, comfortable, neat and clean.

I am here this week and probably part of next week, to do 2 of the bathrooms which the girls use and to do the long hallway off of these baths that connects to the foyer I did previously.  For this job, I decided to just surprise you with the finished rooms when I am done and not show the progress.  All walls are just Ben Moore's Navaho White right now, so a blank canvas for me!  The older girls were allowed to pick out what they wanted for each of their bathrooms.  This is really going to be a fun job!

I thought I would show you the work I have done in this house over the past few years.

This is their 2 story foyer.  I did a Green Limestone Finish here.  I had Stacy and another woman, Karen, help me with this...because as I've said before, I am afraid of heights! I think this foyer is 18' high.  I can only take credit for everything below that tallest window!

Here's a little closer view.  This finish uses 4 glazes, all applied at once and ragged.  The predominate color is a sagey green.  Veining is added last.

With all the females in the house, Dad decided he needed his own bathroom!  His is in their finished basement and he selected the them and provided reference materials for me. It's a long, narrow room, so I can't stand back to fit the entire mural in the frame.  There is a bench mounted to the wall beneath the trees.

Here's another shot that shows the beach area of the mural.

This border design is in the breakfast area of the kitchen. The doorway opens into the family room.

Here is a close up of the design.  It is done in a sepia tone with just a little green and pin coloring.

In this play room I just did a cloud ceiling and the ribbon and stars in each of the 4 corners.

Done!

On Friday I was able to complete all work for the Kitchen/Dining Room job.  It was decided that no olive vines would be added over the 2 remaining doors that were in consideration for this.  The homeowner felt with the addition of the vines on the redone tiles, that was enough.  I am sitting on the fence with this one.  I could see a small branch over the door to the Dining Room, but it will depend on what art work gets hung to the left of the DR door.  It's a good idea to just live with this as is, and add more later if it is felt needed.  Here are the photos from the Dining Room:

Sage Green Lusterstone finish on the top portion of the walls.

Another view.

This view shows both finishes used in this room.  Lusterstone is below the chair rail too, but in a color called Champagne. Both of the these colors are a very close match to the colors that are found in the window treatments that will be hung in this room.

A Good Day!

Wait until you see how these tiles came out!  I am truly amazed.  This is very simple and you may want to give it a try yourself on some dated/unwanted tiles.  The process is too easy!  If you go to the Delta Paint website and read about PermEnamels, there is a step by step guide.  You can find PermEnamels at Michaels and A.C. Moore.  Here again, to refresh your memory, are the "Before Tiles".  They did not match the homeowners new decor in this kitchen.

"Before Tiles"
This was a small project and the first time I have used PermEnamels on tiles.  I only had two small rows of tiles to do.  This one and one below the hood of the stove. 

The first step is to wash the tiles with soapy water, rinse and dry well.  Next, you apply the PermEnamel Conditioner with a brush to the surface and let dry for 1-4 hrs.  The instructions say if you wait longer than 4 hrs. to continue painting, you must reapply the Conditioner again.  I was at the house doing other rooms, so I began the painting after 1 hour.

I used an Ivory color PermEnamel to base coat over the existing tiles.  It took 5 coats to cover the patterned tiles completely.  I waited 1 hour between coats when applying the paint.  The paint is very thick and you should not work it...just brush on thin layers, no over brushing. 

After this was dry, the next day in fact, I began my design work.  Now, I wanted this to match the olive vines on the walls I did in this kitchen, so I switched to the same craft paints I used for that.  I felt the PermEnamels were too thick for the look I wanted.  I will seal everything tomorrow with the PermEnamel Satin Sealer.  The sealer comes in satin or gloss. 

Viola!  Here's the new tiles! I did a soft 1 color glaze over the Ivory PermEnamel base and then added the vine.  Those rust colored horizontal stripes were blue before.  I used the PermEnamel on those too.

Here are the tiles over the hood of the stove.

I was able to finally glaze the Problem Wall where I had to use a hack saw to get the coat rack off the wall.  That wall is really not in good shape.  I did my best to patch it up, but you can still see where the coat rack once was.  It's faint, but I see it.  Hopefully, the homeowner will put a picture up to hide the blemishes. :-(  You don't see it from the kitchen though, looking out to the back entry. :-)

Now when you look out from the kitchen to the back hall doorway, it all blends.

The Problem Wall.  You can see where the coat rack once was, to the top right of the door. :-( That's why good prep work is so important.  That was not part of this contracted job, but I did do my best.  I felt it was not crucial, because it's up high and in the back hallway where a door opens up onto this wall to the garage.

In the Dining Room...good progress, but no pics to show.  I decided to roll on one more layer of the Lusterstone diluted with water, with a shaggy roller before I troweled more.  This worked great.  I was able to trowel one more layer on almost the entire Dining Room before I left today.  I will see how I like it tomorrow.  I may try rolling on a very, very thin watered down layer with a smooth foam roller as my last layer.  I want to see if this will give it a more "Lustery" look.  I should finish up with this job tomorrow.  I also have a few more olive vines to add over 2 doors in the Kitchen.  We were waiting to see how many and where the vines would go once the tiles were done.

Work Progresses

Good news, bad news today on the job site.  The good news is I was able to cover over those tiles in the kitchen, using PermEnamels.  The bad news... it took four coats to do so and because it was so humid today, it also took an hour to dry between coats.  So, as I worked on the tiles, I also worked on the Problem Wall, still filling in the huge holes left by the coat hook I was finally able to remove.  Again, the humidity slowed the drying time down, so I was not able to work on that wall because I had to fill in the holes a little more and they were not dry enough to continue.  I moved onto the dining room.  I had already primed the once red walls and put my base paint on last week.  Today I was able to roll on the first layer of Sage Green Lusterstone on walls above the chair rail and also began troweling on the 2nd layer of 2 of the smaller walls.  It looks ugly, really ugly at this stage of the game.  I always tell the homeowner upfront that this is the "ugly stage" and most trust me enough to know it will all work out in the end.  I can see these walls are going to need a good 4 coats to look presentable!  The walls are not in great shape to begin with, a bit uneven in spots and just old.  I am behind on this job now by about an half day. I had hoped to finish up tomorrow, but I can see myself still there on Wednesday.  I hope I can transform those ugly green walls into something respectable tomorrow! 

Here's the first coat of Sage Green Lusterstone rolled onto the wall in the Dining Room. That is my sample board propped up, showing what the final finish should resemble.This first coat always looks horrid, in any color of the LS.

Oh, here is the Dining Room before I got my hands on it.  Very deep red, above and below the chair rail.  The chair rail is quite low in this room, not the typical height. The walls appear much smoother in this photo than they actually are!

Second coat of Lusterstone applied...with trowel.  Still ugly, but this is typical of this process.  I like instant gratification, so am always disappointed with this stage.

Can you see this horizontal crack?  It's to the left of the 2 switches.  This is a problem with the wall, I believe!  I hope the next layers will hide this flaw.

Olive vine above archway to back entry in Kitchen. I was unsure about how I liked this vine when I left on Friday, but really liked it when I returned today.  Sometimes, actually most times, I just need to get away from my work for a day or two to appreciate it or to see how i can improve/adjust it!

Smaller olive grouping over Kitchen door to patio.

Here are those tiles now base coated with an off white.  Remember them from the previous post?  They were white with little blue flowering vines on them.  I will be adding some olive vines to these and a few other touches... tomorrow.

Recreating a Room

This week I began work for a very nice I couple I first met in 2002.  Back then, they were a newly married couple.  I did a soft, Tuscany style finish in their kitchen w/some olive vines over a beautiful arched doorway.  I also did two finishes in their dining room, and a finish in their living room.  Last year they moved to a new home, had a baby and acquired a dog.  Their family was quickly growing!  I saw the new home then, and they wanted the same finishes in this kitchen and dining room.  Unexpected home repairs quickly surfaced in the new home, so the decorative painting had to be put on hold.  Now I am back, recreating the Tuscany style finish w/the olive vines in the kitchen.  New finishes were selected for the dining room.  I always keep detailed notes of the finishes I do, in each client's folder.  That way, I can make repairs if needed, or as in this case, recreate.  The glazing of the walls is finished now, with the exception of one wall in the adjacent back hall.  That wall has been my Problem Wall.  First it had some type of blue ink stain on it.  I used several cleaners to try to remove it, with no luck.  I had to apply at least 5 thin layers of Kilz to it before it was totally covered!  It just kept bleeding through.  Next, there was a wooded coat rack mounted to the wall that no one could remove!  Today I ended up using a hacksaw to cut off the heads of the screws and pushed the rest of the screws through the giant holes left in the wall. :-(  I patched it, and let it dry until Monday when I return.  Oh... and this kitchen has the same great arched doorway that their old home had!  So... I will be adding the olive vine over that and over a few other doors in the kitchen.  Here's what I have done so far:

This is the beautiful arched doorway that leads from the kitchen to the back entryway.  That white wall in the background is the Problem Wall!  The coat rack is finally down, and the giant holes are patched.  An olive vine will grace the curve of the arch.

This is the opposite wall in the kitchen that leads to the Dining Room.  The DR is deep red right now, but will be changing to a sage green on top and a champagne color on the bottom.  A small olive vine will be added above this door opening.

There are 2 areas in this kitchen that have a single row of tiles, 4 or 5 tiles in each area.  These tiles will no longer go with the kitchen colors and olive vine theme, so I will be painting over them.  More to follow about that...

Quick Two Day Job is Done :-)

I was able to finish that Master Bedroom and a little vine over the front entry door yesterday.  The client was always at work when I was there painting, and she is a new client to me, so a few issues did arise.  When this happens, I do keep in mind that their expectations/visualization of the finished work may differ from mine. Also, it's difficult to get to know a client when I only meet them for the consultation and then they are not home at all while I am actually doing the work.  I leave notes and sometimes give them a phone call in the early evening if I feel it is necessary. After a long day at work, and once I get home from enduring rush hour traffic, I have my own life to live and just need some down time, so I know I am not at my best to engage with clients at that time.  Anyway, back to the point here... It is not cost effective for the client to have me do a full color rendering of small jobs.  I do this for murals, but I also do charge for this rendering, since it's quite time consuming.  It doesn't make sense to do this for small jobs.  I always have a lot of reference material that shows the concept, and I do a quick pencil sketch.  For this job, I had an exact picture of the bow and the trumpet vine flowers.  The two were not together, but I did a quick sketch right there when we first met to show the layout/placement.   For the alcove, the client picked out some assorted wildflowers from reference materials I had and showed me where she wanted them painted.  After my first day there, I had completed the one tall wall with the bow, ribbons, trumpet flowers and birds.  The client called me when she got home to tell me she loved it.  I also spent about 1 hour that day sketching in the flowers w/a watercolor pencil in the alcove and painting in 2 of the plants.  The client said she did not like them and decided that because she loved the trumpet vine flowers so much she now wanted those in the alcove vs. the wildflowers.  She said she was going to paint over what I had just done that day so the walls would be ready for me when I return on Monday to finish!   I was a bit taken aback by this since I did spend an hour working on that space.  I wanted her to be happy once the room was done though, so  the loss of an hour of my time, would be written off.  I was still getting to know this client.  Today I received an email stating that she loves her finished bedroom, but the vine over her entry door 'just didn't end up having the effect she was looking for.'  We had discussed this vine quite a bit, and settled on copying a real vine she had tacked up elsewhere in her home, changing out the berry colors and modifying the design a bit.  I emailed her back, expressing my concern over her disappointment, but also explaining I did execute the job as discussed.  I gave her the suggestion that she could add a ribbon that would wrap around this vine to bring in some color if she would like. The explicit instructions for this vine were to keep it light and airy, only a few light green leaves and a few berries, a small nest and trail it down on that one side of the door.  She is now looking for more branches and some suggestions to "improve it".  I was told no dark green leaves, no dark colors, so from a distance, you see little detail.  I explained that in order to get this effect, darks would have to be brought in to contrast with the lights.  Well, we'll see what happens with this one. I will add that I always work with a contract that does spell out the cost, what I will be doing and a lot of other specifics. 

Here are the final pics for that job:

Alcove trumpet flower vines, randomly placed.

More vines in alcove area.

Twig with berry vine over front entry door...nest at end of vine.

Full view of vine.

Quick 2 Day Job

On Friday I began this small 2 day job.  I will finish tomorrow, Monday.  This is a Master Bedroom of a single woman, a widow, who lives with her college age daughter.  This single family house is decorated in a country style and every room looks like a picture from Country Living magazine.  Very feminine.  This is a new client for me, a referral from the Flower Condo client.  I can see these two women have very similar tastes in decorating.  Another very nice client to work with.  I'm on a roll lately!  This client thinks I have the best job ever.  I can't argue with her on that point.  I do love this work.  I love the variety, the creativity and I just love being in other people's homes, seeing their unique decorating styles.  Here is what I accomplished on Friday:

I will be doing 2 of these walls in this Master Bedroom.  The height at the peak is about 13'.

This shot shows almost the entire width of the wall painted.  My camera does not zoom out enough to to fit it all in, but this is close...maybe another 1' on each side that is not showing.

Here's a little closer view of the center portion.

This shot shows the Trumpet vines that wrap around the ribbons a bit better.  There is a tiny hummingbird to the left, flying toward a flower.

Here is a close up of a larger Hummingbird that is to the far right of the bow.

Here's that same Hummingbird.  This is the far right side of the wall.

Close up of Trumpet Vine.