Columns During & After

Drama is a matter of taste. Subjective. How dramatic do you want your surroundings? Starting with white columns, I made them dramatic. Client was home during painting, and very worried after the first day. I gave her a piece of white chalk and told her she could "X" out areas that bothered her, draw a box around areas she liked.

This is the "FRIEND" column, it looked the best during the whole process. It was the first one I worked on, when I was least tired, it had the best lighting from the window...

Imagine how hard it is to make three separate things look like they belong together, not matchy-match, but coordinated, cut from the same stone.

From bold, to subtle, what the client wanted:

Washed out, or just right? Subtle. Sublime. Soft. Suggestions of colors.

THE CLIENT IS ALWAYS RIGHT. Some things I will argue for, try to persuade from an artistic point of view. But in the end, it is their home, their art, their money, and yes, they get their way. I can go home and paint my own, another day. My preferences: bolder, like this:

Next time I paint marble/stone:
1. I will do 10 sample boards and let the client choose before hand the coloring, drama of lines, width, direction before I start painting. Sometimes the vocabulary gets in the way, my definitions vs. what client understands. It is easier to choose & point and say "Make it look like that!"
2. I will use some metallic paint to add texure & shine (the reflective little bits of mica are one of my favorite parts, but client did not want any metallic).
3. Try oil paints to float the glazes and open up the drying time.
4. Not take clients during December, schedule for January.
5. Carry business cards with me, always. Referrals are the best clients.
6. Pay someone to clean up for me.
7. Pay someone to take professional photos for portfolio purposes.

Marble Columns x 3 BEFORE

Client wants three columns to match fireplace marble or kitchen marble...

Beach Sunrise With Palms and Chairs

From start to finish here is how I do a beach mural:
Start with mid-tone blue SATIN finish or eggshell. It is a nice, smooth surface for me to paint on. Please finish basecoat painting at least a week before I come to paint mural, so paint has time to cure, harden. Not too dark, not too light, but a base color that you love----I can make a beach mural on top of orange, green, pink, purple...it doesn't matter. But think of how the color will show on the walls that I do not paint.

I strongly suggest client finds bedding first, before I come to paint. Solids are easy to work with. This client chose a bedspread that made the her think of her favorite things about the ocean. It is much, MUCH easier for me to use the colors from your fabrics, than for you to try and find a finished bedspread that coordinates with colors I choose. FABRIC FIRST. I will make it blend. That is my job!

It is a good idea to re-hang items that you want me to paint around. Put the mirror at the right height for you, even tape off where furniture will be placed. The client moved the bed away from the wall, but showed me where the headboard would be lined up. That helps me. Leave me 24 inches to stand and place my little ladder.
I like to start with the horizon line, where the sky meets the water. Not half-way on the wall. I try and make it work from the perspective client will see the room as she walks in, and compatible with view from bed.
Client wanted a sun path on water, either a sunrise or sunset, "cool colors at the top and warm colors near the bottom." I thought that was very astute instructions from a teenager, who knows what she likes.
I didn't want it to look like a rainbow, and needed to tie in the great orange and pinks from her new bedding. Keeping a wet edge, I layered on the paint in horizontal bands. And blended. I only used two brushes: violet/blue and orange/pink. I had some turquoise glaze to keep things wet and used a big sponge to move around the colors.


Add water/wave lines, cloud mid-tones.

Clouds are relaxing to look at, but take lots of elbow grease. Wax on-wax off.
And where do you end, really? I like how this mural bled off into the corners.
Open the closet door, and mural only extends 6 inches or so.
Do not be afraid to paint the hardware, treat it as wall. Two coats of satin polyurethane over the top when mural is dry protects from fingerprint abuse and use.



My signature is hidden in this corner. Just for fun.


A small bedroom this size with focus wall and closet and small wall to left and seagulls is a $300 project plus $25 for SUPER GLOW IN DARK paint effects. Not counting basecoat painting. If I do all the prep work, I have to charge more for my time.

But it is worth it! Paint transforms a room, and you can be on vacation every day for the price of one plane ticket!

Painting for Parents

This is AFTER: muted colors, a veil of sage-jade washed over the entire mural to mute it, on purpose.
BEFORE: brighter contrasts, purple shadows stand out against greens. Whites are really white. Client saw it at this point and wanted it more muted. Can do, as seen above.
Seagull picture I took out on the Great Salt Lake on screen saver, and now painted on wall! Print hanging on wall is an original David C. Babcock, also with birds. I love the theme repeated in many mediums.

Quote taken from "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" painted with wall color and shadow and highlight.