To continue into 2007 as a record of my work this past year. I started out the year with a wonderful mural that was not only a challenge as far as elements but a joy to paint with colors like these in the dreary months of January, February, and March. Snow, ice, and other elements kept me from getting this done sooner but all in all it took me about 55 hours to paint. I had the help of my online artist peers on a forum called Faux Forum that I visit everyday to read and catch up on what my peers are doing, teaching, and just having fun with like minds. Some of my peers also blog and you can go to their blogs to the left and click on any of the links to take you to some very fine artists!

This mural ended up being published in an artist's magazine called "Artisphere" and I wrote about how the friendships and support at this forum took my painting to a higher level of quality and learning.

Here is the finished mural and a slide show to show the progression:

Starting the new year off with a greeting, Happy New Year! Still sounds good. A feeling of rebirth, newness and a chance to do things better with goals in mind.

The year ended on a good note a bit stressful but good. I had some rewarding jobs that taught me more things I didn't know before.

Since posting my last works I've had several more.
Welllll... actually I am posting a marble fireplace that I finished just before Christmas of 2007! Oh my how time flies!
This is a before and after of a wooden fireplace I marbleized for a friend in her law office. It was quite fun and the end results turned out very nice. My friend is very happy!



One of my goals for this year is to go back and get pictures with this room totally finished and decorated. Keep watching!

I am REALLY far behind on posting pictures of all the jobs I've had since my last post just over a year ago! Wow when I typed that it really just hit me how much time has flown by.

So... let's catch up shall we?

Let's start with a commission for a floral I did... I am hoping you have time to watch the slide show I made of the progress. Isn't technology wonderful?

Seems I am failing to keep up with my blogging. Seems life just keeps me from making this a habit, but all I can do is try right?

So...with that said, I'd like to catch up a bit on what I have been doing that keeps me from coming here on a daily basis to touch base with you.

I've recently had a couple of stenciling jobs that have helped to broaden my portfolio. They are the same stencils... almost the same colors but in two different places. One being a display home in a new subdivision going up in O'Fallon and the other in a teenager's room, she saw the stencils and fell in love with them! I'd like to do more of this type of work and add to it with modellos, raised stencils, and just be able to get more creative with my work.

This is the room I stenciled in, it was hard to get the whole room but I hope you get the idea:

Here are a couple of close ups of the medallion around the light fixture and the corner pieces... I used three colors in each stencil and blended them to create a lovely balance between the ceiling and the furniture:

The next stencil job was in a teenage girl's room which was a lot of fun to do. Like I stated earlier in this post, I practically used the same colors but any combination can be used to achieve this effect to match any decor in any room.

Once the client finishes the room I will go back and get pictures of the finished room completed with furniture and curtains, the room should be beautiful!

What people fail to realize is that any kind of wall treatment not only increases the value of your home but sets your room above the rest. Something not everyone else will have...it'll make your rooms unique and yours alone!

Here's just a sample of the stencils for this room. I used the ceiling corner pieces around the room in each corner on the walls, it was quite a trick but it worked with little damage to the stencils:

I went around the room with the corners and then in the middle of the walls were these scroll designs to compliment the corners and add fullness to the feel of the room:

Ehem... I 'thought' I was done but as I looked at the mural on the computer things started popping out at me that didn't before... I wonder why?? Maybe I was just too close to it in the room... anyway, here's the updated photos of the mural that is REALLY done now, no... I really mean it this time! lol....
Here try me and see if you can see the difference. :)









I was playing around too and I think I just may make this available for print sales. :) It's a thought.... why not? Right?
What do you think?

Since I posted last, I have finished the mural I spoke of below... I'll just show the finished views. Tinting the mural with green only on the parts that had plant life on it really made the mural stand out.

I think I'll use my tripod and see if I can't get a good enough shot of this one to make prints available for sale. Not sure yet, still thinking about it. :)

Well the painting has finally started so I'll plan on posting the progress as I go. It's been a challenge to say the least, not really having any classes persay in Grisaille, a French word meaning grey, but I sure would love to take a class someday in this technique and similar ones. Old World Frescos, European style painting, ornaments, that's where my interest has been of late. Always looking to expand and grow as an artist. :)

It never ceases to amaze me what artists go through constantly in their minds.

Take this ballerina I painted in less then ten hours or so... I didn't keep track just know that I drew it, transferred it to watercolor paper, did the back ground first then in one evening I painted it all and inked the outlines.

I painted this for my niece for her sixth birthday after asking her parents what she was into. Well she is into ballerinas alright, but Angelina ballerina, a bear! Well this is what came out when I went to work.

My niece told her mom to hang it up next to her bed! I guess she likes it? :)

I hope to do more like this in different colors to make a set of ballerinas.

On to new things happening to me this year so far. A new licensing agreement with a very well known Interior Designer for her printing business, is in the works. I have been painting on canvas for her and have been working on new techniques that will take me on a different path for awhile. I have a feeling all these different styles I have been trying out will eventually lead me to where I NEED to be. :) Here's the first set that I presented for her Spring catalogue and shows.

These paintings were created with the idea that they can be sold as a set to hang together or individually. I am having such fun with this new adventure and hope it will bring me ever so close to the artist I am meant to be.

These originals were submitted and accepted by Patricia Schmidt Interior Designer for her printing business Art Classics LTD. She has been in business for over 40 years and I am honored she has taken an interest in my talent. :)

Autumn is another time when color has changed, from the cool colors refreshing from the spring time into the summertime to the warm colors that warm you inside as the weather turns colder. I found this tree with the sunlight just in the right spot. It lights up the whole tree with a glow that would warm anyone up inside that loves this season. :)

Hello and Welcome, This is a piece that started out in a Celtic knot-work class. It transformed into this work that I call, "Enlightened" I hope you will enjoy it. I painted water color on the background to look like parchment paper. After transferring the drawing onto the paper I painted with acrylic paints and accented with metallic gold pen and liquid copper leaf.