Piggy bank

This little piggy went home! Another one gone. I found these 3 inch piggy banks at a walgreens 7 yrs ago. They were pink and blue bisque porcelain . I bought 2 of them and after painting them, I went back and bought all they had.... 150 or so . Then I carted them around with me in my move to Oregon . No time to paint piggy banks. When I opened my gallery , I finally sat down and painted all of them ! Every one a different design. Only six left. What an excercise in creativity that was!

floor cloth banner

Now that warm weather is coming the Art in the Vineyard show is coming up. I think maybe fellow artist Karina Cross - The Glass Muse may have a booth there. She does fused glass . You can find her on the web, google " glass muse , oregon" Great work. her sushi plates are my favorite.

I did her banner for her booth with the same technique I would usually do for a floor cloth. Very durable , weather resistant besides getting the look that she deserves. Not vinyl or pre printed but customized to complement the work.

Tromp le oeil

Tromp le oeil !!!???? OK , now what ?! I guess I should have labeled the last pics" tromp le oeil" which means " fool the eye " in french. And even though I have been using this phrase in my work for 25 years , I still misspell it most of the time. At any rate.... this is a favorite of mine in painting . I like to add something that makes people do a " double take" or bend over to pick up some keys that have been dropped . The faux windows would be considered Tromp le oeil in most cases. If it is going to be done , it ought to be done with great detail. I'm not a fan of whimsical fakery that looks more like a painted stage back ground.

These towels and the towel rod were painted in this business office bathroom. Paper towels were used but I felt towels seemed like the obvious addition to this wall . These were the company owners favorite colors. Red and yellow.

faux finish , what does that mean?!!!!

Faux- pro-nounced "Foe". What does it mean? Simply put, " FAKE" a fake finish. Faux is french for fake. As in "faux wood grain" or "faux marble". Faux finish could be anything ..... leather look, suede walls, marble columns, woodgraining, crackle finish ( to appear to be old ) You name it , it can be done!

faux window in a laundry room that is on a garage wall

For me, beautiful colors and surroundings are a necessity , not a luxury.  I've always appreciated the finer things in life but was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, so faux everything for me!! Faux finish , faux window, I'll take a badly constructed house and make it look like it's fine! Paint a window if the wall is on the other side of a garage. Fortunately, having grown up around building (my father was an architect and developer ) and LOTS of exposure to art , I was trained in seeing the possibilities of fine craftsmanship combined with big ideas . What comes from working out a customers ideas is what satisfies my creative drive. I enjoy even more.... showing others how to create from their ideas.

more roller rock pics

Since spring is here and I want to get outside more... I'm seeing what needs to be done to clean things up a bit. I still need to finish a teeny bit of painting on the outside of the house that didn't get finished last year. But....  I also wanted to share what DID get done ! Actually 2 yrs ago and still holding up beautifully. My roller rock front steps. The concrete was old and ugly but in relatively good shape . I just wanted to give the front of the house a new look. Took a couple of days total. Really easy to use product.

Roller Rock patio

Before roller rock finish

no paint, all tinted Roller Rock 

This is a patio I did last year. It was 800 sq ft or previously painted concrete. Ugly and gray. Now it looks like a giant carpet of leaves. This Roller Rock product is non skid due to the gritty surface , unlike paint, and is specifically designed for resurfacing concrete. Awesome stuff.

Classes for you

I'm offering classes customized for you. I have so many techniques in my hat  that I've decided it is best for you to decide what you want to learn and when. So here's how it works:

painted plant stand

 

step 2 of faux stone using roller rock

decorative painting

faux finish

Finished faux stone, roller rock

• you choose the class: Furniture painting professional paint techniques, venetian plaster, basic faux finishes, marble and granite faux, concrete finishes for countertops , resurface concrete floors with "Roller Rock " or " Skimstone" , decorative painting.  There are more ideas than I can list.... so feel free to request a class that you don't see here
• Sign up your friends:  Or have a private class. Divide the hourly fee among 2 or 10. 
• Reserve a location:  Heated room, seating, one or more banquet size tables, running water ( hot and cold ) . 
• Set the time and schedule the date .

The fee for instruction is 55.00 per hour. Many classes are 2 hours , not more than 3 hours. Some classes can be formed into a series running several consecutive weeks. Example would be furniture painting and faux finishes. But both of these can also be tailored to a one time class . Mix and match