ELEPHANT TUSKS & RHINO HORN "SHOW THEM RESPECT" (THE JUNGLE BOOK VIDEO)

ELEPHANT TUSKS & RHINO HORN "SHOW THEM RESPECT" (THE JUNGLE BOOK VIDEO)

BOW TO THE PACHYDERMS

"BOW YOUR HEAD. SHOW THEM RESPECT"
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"Fiction, of course, but still beautiful and appropriate on 

THE DAY NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK IN KENYA, BRAVELY BURNED 

$172 MILLION WORTH OF ILLICIT ELEPHANT TUSKS & RHINO HORN.

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I truly hope it makes a difference! :(

(For a larger view, click on Youtube in the lower right corner.)

WORKING IN PATTI'S FABULOUS NEW HOME~WHIMSICAL & WONDERFUL!!

WORKING IN PATTI'S FABULOUS NEW HOME~WHIMSICAL & WONDERFUL!!

Today I was working at Patti's new home again.

 I love, love, love working with her.  

And, I really LOVE the way she decorates. 

Isn't this warm and wonderful!

That moose head over her stove was a housewarming gift.

Sooo cute!!

When I walk into Patti's home it just makes me smile.  

Look at those metal climbing figures!! Aren't they the cutest thing!

Her fireplace is so tall and these figures are whimsical and just perfect to fill in an open space.

Patti said I can share more pictures with you.  As soon as I'm finished working on her furniture, I'll take a few more pictures.  She's got lots more decorating to do. 

 I can hardly wait to see what's next!!

TUTORIAL~HAND PAINTING MY DISHWASHER FRONT PANEL~CHICKEN NEST & EGGS ARTWORK

TUTORIAL ~ HAND PAINTING MY DISHWASHER FRONT PANEL ~ CHICKEN NEST & EGGS ARTWORK 

I have a big white ceramic chicken in my kitchen.
So, I thought it would be cute to draw a nest and eggs on the front of my dishwasher.

I thought it looked ok, but it took away my "white" kitchen.

I LOVE a white kitchen, so I PAINTED OVER IT.
MY DISHWASHER FRONT IS WHITE, AGAIN.

See, it looked ok.  Maybe too country for me.

Here's my big white chicken.
I had a chicken wire stencil and stenciled chicken wire and hand painted ivy on the side of my cabinet.  But, that bothered me, too.  I just wanted a "white" kitchen, again.
So, I painted over that.
(I have a newer tv, now :)

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TUTORIAL

You can paint almost any surface if you use a "bonding" primer first.  I always use an oil based "bonding" primer.  I primed the front of my dishwasher and waited overnight for the primer to dry really well and "cure".  I painted several colors that might be colors of wood.  I used a rag and as I was painting I rubbed the paint vertically to simulate wood grain.  After I had all the wood colors the way I wanted them, I thinned down a dark brown (raw umber) color and drew the lines.  If you want knot holes, use a dark browny gray.  I swirled my brush to make different shapes.  If you look at your wood fence you'll see the different shapes of all the knot holes.  At the end, I sealed with a water based sealer that was a very low sheen. 

You don't have to paint a chicken nest.  You can paint any color you want.

Just use that "bonding" primer.

PAINTING KITCHEN CABINETS FOR NANCY & KEITH'S KITCHEN RENOVATION

PAINTING KITCHEN CABINETS FOR NANCY & KEITH'S KITCHEN RENOVATION

Nancy and Keith wanted to make changes to their kitchen.  It had yellow walls and cherry stained cabinets. They wanted new granite, backsplash and a new cabinet color. 

They wanted to make it young, again.  They called me for a bid on painting the cabinets.

This is the new finish I painted.

And, this is wonderful little Dolce'.  She was inspecting my work.

Look at the amber, brown and gray tones in the black granite.  So pretty!

The backsplash has stainless steel, amber, brown, glass, etc.

They wanted to change the yellow walls to a grayish off white color.  

Nancy felt that off white would go better with her new new color scheme.

 She and Keith painted the walls and wood trim.

That granite is so beautiful.  The backsplash goes perfectly with it and the new cabinet color.

Nancy did a great job choosing everything.  

She's a piano teacher and I told her she should be a decorator.

Beautiful Nancy and little Dolce'.

She suggested I sign my  work.  That was fun!

This is "BEFORE".

It was a nice kitchen, but now it's updated and really, really nice and modern.

(That's my mess you see on the island.)

Thank you Nancy and Keith!

Enjoyed working with you.

PAINTING KAREN'S FRONT PORCH RAILINGS A FRENCH BLUE

PAINTING KAREN'S FRONT PORCH RAILINGS A FRENCH  BLUE

Remember when I was painting artwork on Karen's front door last summer?

Karen had a favorite shade of blue and wanted it to be painted as an accent color on the outside of her home.  I did the artwork with her blue and she told me that she would paint the railings on her front steps.  Well, many months later she had not gotten around to painting so she asked me to do it for her.  Last week I painted for her and the painted railings tied everything together so beautifully.

She had a vision for her home and she was certainly right!

Her curb appeal is amazing, now!

The highest peak of her house on the right, you can see the trompe l'oeil shutters I painted.

So, her front door, the railings and the faux shutters are all blue.  

As it comes back from winter, lots of blue plumbago will soon start blooming.

Lots of pink and purple flowering plants are beginning to show.

The arch over her front porch has a pink climbing rose.

She has two pieces of beautiful wrought iron and she is going to hang those on either side of that small window on the right, above her roses.  It's her kitchen window.

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LINKS TO THE ARTWORK I PAINTED ON KAREN'S HOUSE LAST SUMMER.

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PAINTING BIRDS & NEST ON KAREN'S FRONT DOOR & GARAGE DOOR TO CARRIAGE HOUSE DOORS

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PAINTING TWO MORE BUTTERFLIES ON KAREN'S GARAGE/CARRIAGE HOUSE DOORS

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PAINTING A BLUE PLUMBAGO CANVAS FOR KAREN'S FRONT PORCH

WORKING HARD FOR MY ONLINE CUSTOMERS & PAINT CLIENTS

WORKING HARD FOR MY ONLINE CUSTOMERS & PAINT CLIENTS

Yesterday, an online customer needed me to get something painted and in the mail
TODAY! for her little girl's 6th birthday.
 I worked fast, got it painted and in the mail this morning.

 Just received this nice email from her:
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"Thank you!!!!! It is wonderful to deal with an individual artisan, rather than a corporation. I can tell you care about your customers!"
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I really, really do care about my customers and my clients. I always work hard to get it right and exactly the look or paint finish they are expecting. 

This was a nice email from my online customer.

PAINTING & AGING A BRICK FIREPLACE & BOOKSHELVES WITH TEA STAIN GLAZE

PAINTING & AGING A BRICK FIREPLACE & BOOKSHELVES WITH TEA STAIN GLAZE

My client asked me to paint her fireplace and surrounding bookshelves.

I primed and painted a beigy off white and used a tea stain glaze to age it.

She loved all things French, so I added a metallic gold fleur de lis with a stencil.  

I sanded on it a bit to distress it and make it look old.  I used a dark umber craft paint and tiny brush to outline it, making it look like it could be three dimensional.  

I love "shadowing".

I did the same process on the shelves, but I crackled them.  

The crackling helped make them look old, too.

This is a really beautiful older home.