Painter Girl

Details

 

Now that I've blocked in all the colors, I begin to work on some of the shading and details.  I decided to periodically stand the 3 panels up together, in the order they will be put together, to make sure they are flowing nicely.  I did not do that with the 3 Geisha Girls and discovered when it was way too late, that one was really a bit too small in size and should have been adjusted. :-(

 

 

Now, remember... NONE of these panels are anywhere near finished!  This is just the work in progress.

 

Red dress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Green dress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gold dress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More shading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ordered these three rolls of foils from Prismatic Studios for this job, thinking I'd use the gold for the background, but decided it was just too dark of a gold and too harsh looking.  I'll use all three of these, but much more sparingly than I had originally thought.

 

I used the dark purple foil for the background of the headband and earrings.  I will be adding gems over this later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Same with her bracelet.  Gems to follow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used the lighter purple foil on the sash that is on the green dress.  Again, gems will be added here later.

 

On the gold dress, I have an overlay piece of the dress taped out and have applied glass bead gel in a striae pattern.  This is to make it look like there is a sheer beaded fabric over the bottom portion of the dress.  I also added the bead gel to everyones shoes, for more glitz!

 

 

 

It has taken me forever to come up with an idea I really like for the bottom portion of these panels, but I have finally found something that I think I will really like.  This is just the basecoat... don't panic.

Technical Difficulties and Mistake Follow Up

I don't know why the date July 29th is appearing for the entry entitled "The Folding Screen".  That date should read July 23rd, and precede the post entitled "Progress on the Folding Screen".  Oh well, I don't have time to try to figure out how to change that, so am just going to let it be for now and hope you are not too confused!

In the The Folding Screen post, I wrote that I had made a mistake, but then forgot to mention what that was in the next post, so let me backtrack a bit.

In my original mock up for my client, I had indicated that the bottom panels would have a green foiled panel, framed with copper.  Then what did I do? 

I went ahead and applied copper foil to the whole section!  I decided that this was a good mistake and that the copper foil on the bottom would help to balance out the room more, once this screen is in place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once I added the gold stenciling, I felt this really did look better than bringing in more green. 

 

Progress on the Folding Screen

 

Next, I begin to block out large sections of color on my girls.  I am using all metallic paints for this. Some areas will have foil over them, others will not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remember the bottom portion of the panels that I foiled?  I used this Scallop stencil from Royal Design Studio, which I absolutely love. This is the perfect design to embellish with gems, which I will do later!  I used a metallic gold to stencil.

 

I added some gold foil to highlight some of the clothing on my girls and then used some stencils to add some pattern.  This stencil is just a piece of a stencil I had left over from when I did those yellow and white stair treads.  It's quite dirty, and should be cleaned, but since I was only using it in a small area, I thought I'd give it a shot and use again, rather than spend time trying to clean this and possibly tear it.

 

 

A close up of my very dirty stencil from Royal Designs called Moorish Fleur de Lis.  Don't do as I do.  Try to stay on top of it all and clean your stencils before they become so caked with paint! 

 

 

 

 

 

This head dress has the gold foil topped with dirty stencil.  It did work out fine for this small use!  And did I clean it after?  Not yet.  

 

 

Will I Ever Get Out of This Room?

Deja vu... here we are, back to Linen White walls! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I brought three new sample boards I had just made for a room I will be doing in their second home on the Cape.  As soon as I saw two of these boards in this Master Bedroom, I could see either of these easily worked with the fabric, the copper foiled border and the accent wall with the Ginkgo leaves.  Luckily, my client could see this too and selected the board on the left.

I already used this Hourglass stencil from Cutting Edge Designs in a back hallway downstairs in this same house.  I don't usually like to repeat a design or finish in the same house, but I am at a loss as to what to put on these remaining walls, and this pattern does fit the bill.  Btw, back about an hundred sample boards ago, I did propose this exact concept, a soft metallic glaze background only I wanted a bamboo trellis allover pattern that would form a diamond pattern.  It was rejected. :-(

In this close up of the sample board you can hopefully see the details that will be added: a thin metallic gold shadow line and some gems!  Now that I look at this board, I see one of the gems (top left) slipped off and up the board. 

 

Here's the stencil in progress.  This design really works up very quickly. It's a large stencil, one overlay. In this photo you see one complete repeat done on the right and one in progress on the left.  This gives you a good idea of the size.

 

 

 

I'm going to be adding a 1" border of the same green paint I am using for the stencil, just below the copper border and above where this stencil pattern begins.  My finger is on the 1" tape...where the green will be painted when I'm done with the stenciling.

 

 

 

 

So, at the end of this day, I've made some good progress. I put a quick, one color pale silk glaze on the three walls and was able to get the pattern on about 75% of the walls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The eye situation has improved little.

 

The One Eyed Painter

I have the largest stye under my left eyelid (eye on right in this image).  You can see how swollen my eyelid is.  I went to the eye doctor's Monday to confirm that it was indeed a stye.  I've had it for over a week now and my lid only seems to be getting bigger!  I was told to put warm compresses on it for 5 minutes at a time, at least six times/day... and maybe in a week it will be gone! :-(

 

  To add to this fetching look, I have misplaced my regular glasses and can only find this pair that I use when painting.  They are really a mess, since I never bother to clean the paint, plaster, foil, sizing, etc. off of the rims. So not only do I have one ugly looking, blurry eye, these paint splattered glasses just add to the whole fetching look.

It really does feel better when I stop and apply a compress for a few minutes.  You can see the stencils I am foiling on that border in the background.  Btw, it took four coats of Linen White to cover the side borders of copper foil, but who's counting.

Today I was able to get all of the border flowers foiled, but was too obsessed about my eye and forgot to take pics.  Next,  I will add the Swaroski gems, and hopefully finish all the glazing of the remaining walls.  Then... maybe I can have Friday off! I have to work Saturday, so I'm hoping all goes well and I can have an easy day on Friday.

The Milton House Foyer/Upstairs Hall Job

I am well underway with this job and hope to have it completed in a few days, but will start from the beginning to show you the transformation.

Here is the "Before" picture, taken from the top of the stairs on the second floor.  This floral wallpaper was everywhere, right down to the foyer.

When I was pulling together design and finish options for this area, I had in mind that it would flow with the adjacent back hall I had just completed.

 

The carpet was staying, so I had to work the small floral, diamond pattern in with whatever I came up with.

The ceilings are low, 7'5", so I felt I needed a design that would give this space some visual height and not close it it, as the wallpaper did.

I had come across this wallpaper pattern online somewhere, and I'm sorry to say, I don't know where.  I liked the way the flowers were in vertical rows.  I saw Melanie Royal of Royal Design Studio was posting some new pics on Facebook of her latest stencil designs, so I sent her this pic and asked if she had anything in an over scale, vertical floral design coming out.  Well, lo and behold...Melanie to the rescue!  Ask and it shall be yours! 

This new stencil is one the Hearst Castle designs Melanie has been working on.

It is called Phoebe's Tulip and comes in two different sizes. This photo is from the Royal Design Stencil website. 

I showed it to my client and she said "no flowers". :-(   Well... when I looked at the Tulips and then at her wallpaper, I could see her point.  But, there are floral patterns everywhere in this house, so I new she loved flowers, but just wanted a change from the all over repeat pattern she now had with the wallpaper. 

I was determined to make Phoebe's Tulip work! 

To be continued...

 

 

 

 

More at the Milton House

Continuing on with my adornment of the Milton House walls, this week I will show you the back hall project I just completed.  Here you see the "before" picture, with that "w" word I hate to use, wallpaper.

My favorite painter, Warren, was on the scene before me to strip off this paper and apply the base coat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first layer was a soft gold metallic glaze.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That was followed by this great stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils. I have been drooling over their selection of stencils for some time now, so was delighted when my client picked this one!  I had them enlarge their original design by 20% because I wanted an over-scaled look here.  The stenciling was done using a metallic green.

 

When I ordered the stencil, I also ordered this great new tool... a clip on level!  For those of you who use these all over repeat patterns, this is a real time saver and I highly recommend spending the extra $10 for one.  I did not want to use spray adhesive on this stencil, so that is why you are seeing so much blue tape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a closer look at my little level at work!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This design works up very quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, I did all the easy sections first. :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This stencil is a very good weight and was easy to wrap around the corners.

 

More tomorrow...

So... Why No Blog Posts Recently?

If you are indeed, still checking in to see if I've come around to put up a new post, I whole heartedly thank you for being a faithful follower!  I have a few things on my plate this month that are leaving me with little time to crank out new posts.  Trust me, it's not that I don't want to...but there are just so many hours in a day, as much as I hate to admit to that little fact.

So, what has been consuming all of these hours, you may be asking?  One great time sucking item on my agenda, has been to get myself registered to begin taking some classes online at Lesley University.  It's been a very slow and frustrating process.  Phone calls are not returned, paperwork has been lost.  This results in more paperwork for me and more follow up phone calls.  I wish I had a dime for every time I was put on hold, transferred to another department, or my favorite... disconnected.  I decided some time ago, to return to school for my Masters in Science Education (K-8).  I'm not ready to leave the world of decorative painting, but I do have a deep fascination for the sciences and totally enjoy my after school Mad Science classes I teach twice/week.  I'm thinking I would like to be able to design and implement some after school Science programs for this age group that combine art and science... the science of art, or the art of science... so to speak.  Going back to school is a step in that direction.  Because ALL of the classes will be online, I will be able to keep the same schedule I have now, only more frazzled!

I have also been developing some new concepts for my PetMats.  I had to let the PetMats slide after the holidays so have done no new PetMats nor any promotion.  My former next door neighbor, Lisa Cohen, who is a wonderful photographer, called me with a proposal I could not refuse.  She knew about my PetMats and this fit in nicely with her new foray into pet photography, SnapTails.  She has arranged for us to have a little opening, March 2nd, from 6-8 pm at Durty Harry's in Charlestown, MA.   Durty Harry's  offers  "Do It Yourself" dog wash stations, as well as gifts and treats to further pamper your pooch.

I'm very excited about my new PetMat designs.  While I will still be carrying breed specific PetMats, I am introducing a line of pet quotes PetMats.  Here is a sneak preview of a few:

I will have these, and more, on my Etsy site shortly.  As always, a portion of all sales will be donated to Angel/MSPCA.  More about this event later next week.

 

 

In my studio, I'm up to my eyeballs in mirrors these days!  I have 14 of these huge mirrors from hair salon that I am redoing.  Here is a "before" shot.  The salon owners want them to be a very dark brown now.

 

 

I've rearranged my small, messy studio to be able to accommodate 4 of these mirrors in one room and 1 more in the adjacent room that is normally just used for laundry and household storage.  It's hard to tell from these photos, but the mirrors are about 3' wide by 4' tall. They are lightweight, made of molded styrofoam, but very awkward to move solo.  Luckily, it's school vacation week here and I've been able to recruit a few of my friends who are teachers to give me a hand transporting them.  I'm doing seven at a time, so I don't leave the salon mirror-less!

Of course, the ever ominous task of preparing for my 2010 tax return looms large! Here's where I'm at... still entering numbers into my spreadsheet and hoping for the best. (which would mean I hit the Lottery, a zero in a million chance since I never even play!)

 

 

Milton House Four Seasons Room, continued

I am using one of my favorite stencil designs, the Moorish Trellis, from Royal Design Studios.  I have it in the large, production size you see here and I also have the smaller size to use in the corners, above the doors and wherever needed. This pattern works up very quickly. 

 

 

I am using the same Modern Masters Metallic Burnt Orange, only straight from the jar, to do the stenciling.  I mix in a touch of glaze to make it easier to apply.  The room is already really starting to have a warm feel to it.  Of course, the homeowners keep the heat on 70 degrees and I'm moving all about, so that might have something to do with my feeling warm!  I forgot about the high heat situation here the first day and wore a turtleneck.  I easily drank a gallon of water that day!

 

 

One little glitch are these radiators.  This whole project came about because the homeowners decided to replace their older baseboard heating system with these new, more efficient, sleeker looking units.  When I initially talked to the heating contractor he told me he would install the units AFTER I did my finish.  Much to my surprise, they were all installed AFTER the base coating was done, but BEFORE I arrived to do my finish!  It's a bit tricky glazing behind these and trying to stencil...not mention very hot! 

 

 

 

 

Here is the wall to the left of the door, completely stenciled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here is the wall to the right of that door.  More again tomorrow.

 

 

Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Much to my relief, there were only some very minor touch ups once all of the tape was removed from this wall!  The Pulling of the Tape is always a nerve wracking process for me.  Then, trying to put all that sticky tape in a bag is hilarious.  It sticks to the bag itself, sticks to my hands, sticks to everything it comes in contact with.  Now where was all this tack when I wanted it to stick to the wall??? It's a good thing no one is video taping me while I am doing this.  No one IS video taping me, right?!  I did find an empty box to put the tape in, in the end.  Much easier than trying to get it in a plastic bag.

So, now you think I'd be done, right?  Not quite.  My client decides she wants me to add a layer of gold over the orange striae stripes.  I try this with three of the far right end stripes.  It looks horrible.  I wipe it off quickly.  But not quite quickly enough.  I have to touch up two of the stripes. I decide to get a coat of sealer on all of the stripes before I do any more damage.  I go for my roller set up and discover I do not have a mohair roller sleeve, but instead have a foam roller sleeve... not what I want to use to apply this sealer.  I'm in my car, one more trip to the paint store. With the sealer left to dry, I go home to debate how I will bring in a little gold on the orange stripes without re-taping and without destroying what I've done so far.

Oh, I guess I will share this with you too.  It was not bad enough that I ruined 3 of my stripes.  I also clogged their toilet in the powder room!  I was in there, just to pee, and when I flushed... the water came right up to the brim of the toilet bowl!  Frantically, I ran around the house looking in the obvious places for a plunger, with none to be found (the homeowners were both out).  Luckily, the water slowly subsided.  When one of the homeowners returned, I had to explain what had transpired... the failed attempt of adding the gold on the stripes and the clogged toilet!  Ugh... it's amazing people let me in their homes at all.  I'm scheduled to do 3 more rooms in this house, so we'll see if I still get invited back once this one wall is finished!

I was so frazzled today with the Pulling of the Tape, the ruining of 3 of my stripes, and the toilet scenario, I did not take one picture for this post. :-(