Tree of Giving - Hand Painted Mural

 A mural painted at a local dog rescue with my friend, Pam. This is in the reception area for the rescue building.   

This entire tree was done in black acrylic paint. The start was to center the trunk in the corner of the room. Then bring the branches out and up. (happy trees = branches up, spooky trees = branches hang down a bit) 

We did one side, then moved to the other the following day. Adding a few more branches and then the leaves. Most are kind of heart shaped. Start with a V at the end of the branch then round out the top and twist the brush to meet at a point at the end of the leaf. 

A few special touches! 

The third day was simply clean up and touch ups. The wall had a texture stucco and it was challenging to paint a straight line. 

Craft foam leaves will be used to mark donations. So supporters can add a leaf to our Family Tree! 

Finished! 

Three days of up and down ladders was exhausting but I think it came out okay. What do you think? 

Foster! Adopt! Rescue!

Paint Up that Old Chair

 Let's face it. Everything can be a canvas. I especially like painting on things. It's a challenge to see what you can fit in the space allowed and putting your special touch on an object. 

Chairs are a perfect space to get creative on.  

These chairs were kind of beat when I first got them. One was found on the side of the road, two were found at a local thrift store. Most thrift stores sell that odd chair cheap. A set of four might sell for more but one? Grab that deal! 

These three chairs got the beachy treatment. First I did a coat of spray paint to give them an even white coat of paint. (Sorry! I didn't take before photos) I also had to reinforce the dog beach one because a leg was loose but that was an easy fix - I got my husband to do it. 😁

Next I started with the basic beach scene. Pick your horizon line. This cannot be in the exact center. It's always good to go a little below or above that center mark.

I think beaches are easy because it's basically horizontal lines of color. Blend the sky and sea and put on a beach. Ripple of water foam, maybe a palm tree or palm leaves. Done. 

After the painting is dry I seal the chair with a waterproof acrylic sealer. Be sure to spray all sides of that chair to ensure good protection.

This is my foster failure Maggie Mittens admiring her silhouette on the Dog Beach chair. This chair will be donated to a dog rescue to sell in their thrift shop. 

Woof! Good dog! 

New Sketch Book

 Kool sketch book with prompts.

Keeping Crafty in a Busy Life

 I recently moved to Florida so life's been a bit hectic. Working, settling in and all that stuff. Then there's that nasty covid thing. So far we've been lucky and vaccinated, but still it's a big issue in meeting people and making friends.  

I've still been painting and trying to keep crafty but it is a challenge. The house we're renting is small and my craft room is a jumble of stuff that doesn't fit any place else. Isn't that always the way? It's like the world sees our craft rooms as that spare place to store stuff. Frankly it messes with my creative flow. It's like writer's block. Crafter's Block? That has to be a thing. Most of the stuff that used to be out and in sight is stuffed in a box and crammed into a closet. 🤦

One of these days I'll reveal the before and after of this craft/office/storage fiasco when I can figure out how to reorganize it (again.) But right now it's just too much. 

And my piano desperately needs tuning. - but that's another topic. 

Then I painted sunshine gnome just because. 

One Aimless Writer: NANOWRIMO Approaches... Are You Ready?

One Aimless Writer: NANOWRIMO Approaches... Are You Ready?:  Love this time of year when we prep for NANO.  What? you don't prep for NANO?  I guess it comes down to a plotter or a pantser or even ...

Easter Porch Board - Admitting Mistakes

Needs work! 

This is a four foot board about 10" wide. 

First it was washed with light blue. Let that dry. Then sketched the Gnome in chalk. Mistake? I used bright pink chalk that was hard to cover & hard to wipe the extra off. 

After sketching it was just coloring in. 

If I had to do over here's my list of needed corrections or changes;

Darker background

Hat bigger/longer

Background beard with violet before adding long white hair so it has more depth. 

The green in the hat needs to be smoother. 

Lettering would have been better if the background was darker or done on the Silhouette so they're more even.

Easter Egg needs to be decorated. 

Hands outlined

When working in a width of 10 inches you have to keep everything narrow. If I was painting this on a wider piece I would have had more room to make the hat a little floppy and made ears angle off to the side and maybe a few more eggs around him. I did decide on purple shoes because there's a little green grass by his feet. I almost gave him a pink hat but that would have had to be darker than the ears and nose. Not sure that would have popped too much/little. 

Next? I need a bunny on a porch board. 

 

Bird Bath Cover Up

There was this ugly sewer tap in thing in our back yard. I hated it from the minute we moved in and thought long and hard on how to cover it up.

So, what does every back yard need besides a bird feeder to attract those cute little feathered beauties? 

A Bird Bath, of course! 

Hubby made this box from plywood. Just cut four equal pieces and nailed them together to fit around that sewer pipe.

Next; Bright blue spray paint. 

Then I took chalk and drew some flowers and birds and painted on some whimsy. 

After it was all done I used a spray sealer with UV protection so it would withstand the rain and sun. 

Once that was dry we glued on one of those bottoms to a flower pot. I think it was maybe $3 in Lowes. We used an all weather glue to hold up to the elements. 

Finished! Easy Peasy Bird Bath Cover Up!