Griffmobile Designs

Plant Eaters Only!

2011-08-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

A little friend of mine LOVES dinosaurs. He's 3-years-old and he not only does he know the names of the dinosaurs, he can pronounce them!

He prefers plant eaters (he knows their called herbivores). And dark colors. He told me that many times while I painted his mural. He was a very demanding client, but you got to give him credit for knowing exactly what he wanted!

Since my workload at home increase by 200%, I needed this mural to be simple and quick. So, I came up with the idea of colorful silhouettes. They need to be realistic, yet not too scary. So, I made the eyes round to personify them a little.

Thanks to his Grandma for helping me paint these beasts. It was nice to be paint again, even it was only for a day.

Why I Haven't Been Posting

2011-07-13T21:46:00.001-07:00

My 3-month-old twins, Otto and Felix.

But, I'm planning a simple mural for a friend, so I might be posting again soon!

Magical Mural is Complete!

2010-08-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

After stretching this project out over the summer, I finally finished! It was really fun to do and I'm glad I didn't edit anything out. With taking time off to raise my young BeaBug, this project was a great way to keep some creativity in my life. Enjoy the pictures!

Patchwork Meadow is a Great Place to Read

2010-07-19T14:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know I said this last time, but it's HOT here! When I'm painting at night, I can't even open the windows until 9:30 or 10:00pm. On the other hand, I believe I'm sweating off tons of calories.

Here's my current paint palette. Since I'm painting more complex, smaller things, I need more colors!

I finished another wall in the mural. I didn't paint the characters before, so I had to come back and finish them. Some of them I had planned ahead, but some characters I improvised.

I'm going to move on the next wall, but I may come back and add another character or two.

More Work Done on the Magical World

2010-07-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

Even for a designer and illustrator, the pull of summer can be strong enough to tear me away from my computer. That's my excuse for not posting for a while, but I HAVE been painting the magical world mural! It's getting a little more time-consuming because I'm getting into the details of the characters and smaller items. Here's a few photos of some working details.

Sacramento Retiree Photographs Public Murals

2010-06-18T07:38:00.000-07:00

Lezlie Sterling/lsterling@sacbee.com

I came across this article in the Sacramento Bee about a local retired man who takes regular walks around the city photographing every public, private, amateur and professional mural, he can find. He meanders around, with no destination, documenting some great art.

photo by Russ Andris

You can see Russ Andris' photos here. Enjoy!

My Birthday Present

2010-06-08T13:52:00.000-07:00

Since I started creating more of presence online for my art business (murals, web design, illustrations, etc), I have found so many wonderful artists! It's awe-inspiring and intimidated at the same time, you know what I mean.

One of the artists I really liked is Stephanie Fizer, http://stephaniefizer.com. I think her style is adorable, and I'm in love with her color palettes. So, I sent my husband a link to her Etsy shop and told him that's what I wanted, if he was so inclined to buy me a present :)

And, he did! These are little girls as characters from Alice in Wonderland. Maybe for Christmas I'll ask for the Wizard of Oz illustrations...

Transported to the Tuscan Countryside

2010-06-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

The weather's a little crazy with so much rain in May, but I'm not going to complain because I know how hot the summers get here. I'm not in a hurry for that! Unfortunately, it did effect my painting schedule. I finally finished this week.

The first final version

The final step was painting the crumbling wall with exposed brick. I also added long cracks with rocks broken out. In addition, the client requested a embossment around the door. He felt it need a little more depth.

The left side of the exposed brick wall

After sitting with it for a day or two, the clients decided they wanted to take out and rearrange some elements.

The first version of the left side

Even though I painted it exactly like my sketch, they decided they wanted a few changes. This totally fine because it's their wall and they are the ones who are going to be living with it.

The second final version. The client wanted to remove the large brick area on the bottom left. They felt it distracted from the scene in the arch. They also requested I add a small brick area on the bottom right to incorporate some real exposed bricks and removed the circular chips in the wall.

So it is clear to perspective clients and to avoid any problems, it is written in my contract that any major changes made to the painting after the sketch approval will be an extra charge. I've never had a problem with a client about it, but better safe than sorry.

The final mural

In the end, you want the client to be happy with their artwork while maintaining the integrity of your work.

Tuscan Landscape Mural - Countryside Done!

2010-05-20T21:08:00.000-07:00

I finished the countryside scene inside the archway today. Here's a couple pictures. The clients are pretty happy with it, and so am I.

I'm glad I got it done today because they are having a party on Saturday, and I wanted it to be a good stage of completion to be shown. I gave them a few of my business cards to hand out, in case any party folk are interested in their own landscape.

Tuscan Landscape Mural - Paint on the Wall

2010-05-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

I finally started the Tuscan landscape outdoor mural today. With weather, traveling clients, and other delays, it's been a couple weeks since this project got started. But, today I was finally able to put paintbrush to wall. Here's a few photos of my progress.

The canvas.

I chose my vanishing point and taped a string to it. An old trick, but it's an easy way to figure out perspective. Do you notice the gray smug above my hand? That's from trying to erase pencil with water. Note: when painting a mural, make sure your client has more of the wall color paint. It will become your "eraser".

Mixing up my paints. I really watered down my paints this time for two reasons. One, it brushes on more smoothly and quickly on a rough surface. Two, I wanted to paint layers of washes, to build up my color, highlights and shadows.

Painting the first wash of the mountains. Using the washes allowed me to work quickly. Instead of painted each section completely, I was able to fill out every part of the painting. This helped me to make sure I did my spacing and composition correctly.

A little more detail in the washes.

So far, so good! I was able to flesh everything out. Now, I can go back and build up the details. Once the arch scene is done, I'll start working on the crumbling wall.

Little Birds on a Fence

2010-05-09T22:14:00.000-07:00

My mom is reading garden blogs right now since going outside and working in her actual garden is too much for her allergies. She's been sending me garden decorating ideas. One of them is murals on backyard fences.

So, for Mother's Day, I painted some birds on her fence, like they are resting on the top ledge. I did a quick sketch of a character, trying to keep it uncomplicated. I used acrylic paints because they are the most durable for outside murals.

The fence was old and weathered, so I started out with drawing the shapes, then sanding down the fence to get off dirt, dust and moss. I probably should have hosed it off first, but I was trying to be quick.

I knew painting on the fence would be rough, so I kept the shapes and colors simple. The metal fence and shell bowl on the picture above were taken down after this shot.

The final step will be seal it with a varnish to keep out the weather.

Next up for mom's fence, lizards!

Illustration Friday - Cocoon

2010-05-06T21:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, I paint this last month, but I thought it fit perfectly for this week's Illustration Friday topic. I mean, what is a better definition of "to envelop or surround protectively" than a mother lovingly holding her new baby? Happy Mother's Day!!

Tuscan Garden Mural - Sketches for the Client

2010-04-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

I was hired to paint a Trompe-l'oeil mural in my clients backyard on a garage wall facing their garden. Trompe-l'oeil is French for 'trick the eye'. For those of you who don't know, it's a style of painting that creates an optical illusion, a three-dimensional, realistic image.

They just finished a 4-year remodel project on a beautiful house in Sacramento and they want a Tuscan countryside mural to finish off the garden. Here's a couple sketch options I showed them. What do you think?

Click on the images to see them bigger. These are the two options for inside the arch, the center piece of the mural . If you click the links below, you can see the whole mural.

http://www.griffmobile.com/muralsketches/tuscanoutdoorgarden1.jpg

http://www.griffmobile.com/muralsketches/tuscanoutdoorgarden2.jpg

Magical World Mural - Clouds, Forests, and the Sun!

2010-04-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple photos of my progress so far. I've got the major work for the clouds, hills and sun done. I'm currently working on the forest.

I thought things were moving along nicely, considering time restraints, but I realized when I start getting into the smaller details, it will actually take more time. This is where loosening up my style to be more simple and bold on mural details (since they are meant to be looked at from across the room) might come in handy.

Illustration Friday - Detective

2010-04-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

Look closely - sometimes even the smallest voices have something important to say!

Scary Dinosaurs on the Wall!

2010-04-16T09:06:00.000-07:00

The first round of dinosaur sketches for this little 3-year-old boy were just not scary enough. I was going for cute dinos, but I guess I underestimated the bravery of this little boy!

He wanted a bunch of different dinosaurs, so his parents hired me to paint 4 vignette scenes around his room. I don't know much about dinosaurs beyond "Land of the Lost", so I had to find some good references.

He has a pretty big room, so the T-Rex almost takes up a whole wall. It IS one of the biggest dinosaurs!

His mom told him he had to stay out of the room, but he couldn't help himself from coming in and checking on my progress, telling me about dinosaurs. His knowledge was impressive!

It's good to know I made a dinosaur expert happy.

The Magical World Mural - Background Progress

2010-04-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick post about the progress of BeaBug's magical world mural. There's going to be a lot of stuff going on, so I may have to thin it out as I start painting. Since it's a personal project (non-paying work), it's going at a slow, but steady pace. With an active 2-year-old, I can only paint when she's sleeping, or occupied with Dad.

So far, I'm using latex paint, with large paint brushes and rollers. When I start getting into the details, it will be more acrylic and latex mixes.

I wanted the bottom of the wall to be simple since most of it will be covered by furniture.

I have one corner that is a evening scene, so I went with a purple-pink sky, like just after the sun goes down.

I blended it with a paint brush into the blue. The edge might be a little harsh in places, but it will be covered by either clouds or trees.

On to the next step! With the background painted, now I am drawing the scenes on the wall. I think it's going to be a combination of freehand and tracing using the projector.

Ilustration Friday - Rescue

2010-04-01T08:18:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! It's my first IF illustration, even though I've been thinking about it for a long time. I had a lot of fun painting this little bird who needs rescuing from a tree top, hee hee. Let me know what you think, comments are welcome!

P.S. Does anyone else have a Canon MX310 scanner/printer? I'm still having trouble getting my scans to look good. I have to do some color adjustments and I just don't think it does the original artwork justice.

Earth Mother, Final in a Series

2010-03-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

I started this series of illustrations a few years ago, when my friends first started having babies. I began
sketching mothers swaddling and cuddling their babies and ended up with four sketches I wanted to paint. I got through three. Then I had a baby and the last one got put on hold for a while, you know how it is.

Anyway all this twittering, blogging and chatting with my fellow illustrators is really inspiring and motivating me to get back into my paint box and watercolor papers. So here is the final painting, followed by the three previous ones. I hope you like them!

Oh, my scanner isn't working well, so I had to take a picture of this painting. The colors are close, but not as good as the scans of the other paintings.

Colorful Inspiration

2010-03-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

I was wandering around in the garden this morning with the BeaBug and I was tickled by all the beautiful, colorful flowers blooming. Thank you, Husband. He has a green thumb, I do not. I love the beginning of springtime when the flowers and trees start blooming, the vegetables start growing, the bees start buzzing...sounds like a Disney song, right?

Anyway, the colors on the flowers are so vibrant, maybe that's why I like them so much. If you get really close, you can see the wonderfully natural palettes they display. So, I'm sharing my garden paint palette with you, for your own inspiration. I've already found a couple color combinations I can't wait to paint. Enjoy!

And the busy little bees that make these blossoms possible!

Skaters & Bikers: An Xtreme Mural

2010-03-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

Most of the time I get murals requests for flowers, animals, a little fantasy, stuff like that. This time I got a call from a mom of two tween boys that shared a big bedroom. She said one liked to skateboard and the other like to ride dirt bikes. She was looking for a mural to incorporate both of those sports, plus a graffiti style theme.

I hadn't really done anything like that before, especially graffiti. But, I saw it as a challenge. I did alot of research looking at graffiti art, competitions, fonts (there are tons of graffiti style fonts!), not to mention finding good references to develop my skaters and biker dudes.

I started with my background. Looking at graffiti, I never really thought about it, but a background really holds it all together on a chaotic wall. I really liked the sharp shapes, solid colors and hard lines.

When it came to the boys names, I used my projector to make sure I got the shape of the graffiti type correct. Which is ironic because the beauty of graffiti art is that it's loose, immediate, and freehand. But, since I didn't have alot of practice, I wanted to make sure I got it right!

It actually turned out to be tons of fun to create. Like any piece of art you work on, there are moments when you think you really messed it up, but I'm pleased with how it turned out and more importantly, the boys loved it!

2nd Saturday in Sacramento

2010-03-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

The family and I finally ventured out for a 2nd Saturday in Sacramento. I haven't been in while, what with moving to Woodland (not really a good excuse) and having a baby (a good excuse). It's definitely changed! There are quite a bit more stores, art galleries, restaurants, and random places involved. It was really packed and there were a few police cars down there due to a war protest. And maybe the beer garden.

Here's a description of what 2nd Saturday is about:

Every month, art galleries in the Sacramento metro area stay open late and invite the public to the Second Saturday Art Walk. People from near and far come to walk from gallery to gallery, enjoying the latest and best of the region's vibrant art scene. There is live music, and an immense variety of art and activities behind every door.

It was really fun to go down and check out all the art and festivities. We started out with dinner at Hot Italian at 16th and Q St. They had a student art auction going on. There were about seven canvases to bid on. I even spied a couple of the artists lounging around, checking out the people checking out their artwork. It reminded me of my college days.

The husband and I took turns eating and following the BeaBug around. That's what you have to do when you've got an adventurous toddler and you want to eat at a restaurant! When Bug and I were wandering, we found a great black and white mural in the outside patio area.

After dinner, we went over to J Street to walk around. If you're a Sacramentian, you may have heard about the muralists, Hennessy Christophel and Sofia Lacin. They have been in the news alot this past year for their wonderful artwork on many Sacramento businesses. I read on their blog they were going to be doing a live mural painting for 2nd Saturday. So, the family and I wondering down there to check them out and say hi.

I chatted with them a short bit and they are very friendly. They seem like they really enjoy what they do.

We continued on a bit, but it was someone's bedtime, so we headed back home. Check your city, they probably have a monthly art walk, too!

Whimsical Tree Archway

2010-03-06T17:34:00.000-08:00

Like most requests I get, I was asked to make a bland wall into something fun and magical. This playful mural is painted on an archway entrance to a playroom.

These whimsical trees have thick, bushy leaves on top that overlap and expands on to the ceiling and the side walls. It's hard to contain a tree top like that, it kind of took over!

I wanted to make the two pillars look like thick, twisted tree trunks with deep pockets for critters to hide. I actually painted them twice. I DID have a plan, but it didn't translate to the wall. Sometimes that happens. So, I started over and I got the tree trunks I was looking for.

Here are some of the fun critters these kids will get to discover as they play in their friendly forest.

You can click on any of these photos to see a bigger version. If you want to see a close up of a couple other critters from this mural, check out the Sneak Peek blog post.

Pig Day at the Davis Farmers Market

2010-03-06T06:50:00.000-08:00

It's Pig Day at the market today! It's starts at 9am at Central Park in Davis. There is going to be not only baby pigs (Awwwww!) and other farm animals to pet, but lots of piggy crafts for the kids. They can make pig ears, nose, tails and faces.

And it would be complete without the Three Little Pigs!

See you there!

Sneek Peek!

2010-03-03T21:16:00.000-08:00

Here's a little sneak peek at a mural I'm working on. I should be done in the next day or two, but I thought you might a enjoy these little critters!

Flowers & Fairies

2010-02-26T14:38:00.000-08:00

When I was a little girl, my mother painted murals on my and my sister's bedroom walls of castles, fairies and magic. I imagined myself inside these paintings, fantasizing about being a princess, flying through the air, escaping to another land. My mother is a great artist. She was always painting, creating, sewing, sculpting art and cooking when I was growing up...and still does!

One of the murals my mom painted in the mid-'70s in our room. The classic theme of moon, stars and sun.

Another classic theme: fairies, castles and a magical rainbow. I loved these as a kid.

So, it was fun to paint this "flowers and fairies" mural for this soon-to-be born baby girl. It was a small room, but I think I was able to pack in quite a bit of imagination!

The focus point is the little baby snuggled in the flower's leaf. Whimsical fairies, butterflies and bumblebees join in on the fun.

It's hard to see in the photo, but the fairy wands and sprinkles of color shooting out of the tips.

I had a tight deadline for this one, plus big brother wanted a mural, too. So, I tried a looser style in my painting technique. I tried not to worry so much about the smaller details and went for broad strokes of color. I also painted more of a contrast between highlights and shadows to create a bigger punch. Of course when you're done, you can always think of ways to improve it!

When painting a mural, try to remember most people will be looking at it from across the room, not up close. That's why sharp contrasts in color help create a better illusion of depth, light and dimension. And think about using color for shadow instead of the dull grays and blacks. It can really make things pop!

Public Art in Yolo County

2010-02-23T22:56:00.000-08:00

I had noticed a new mural on Main Street the other day. I mean, it's been there for 6 months or so, but I really looked at it the other day. It made me remember other murals I've seen in town. I wondered how many other there are in town and who are the artists that painted them. Let's take a little tour of my little town, Woodland. You might be surprised, like me.

16 Main Street, artist Maceo Montoya. The mural emphasizes the importance of good nutrition, physical activity, and promotion of healthy lifestyle choices.

Once I found out about the Montoya artists, Malaquias (father) and Maceo (son), I felt kinda stupid. Why didn't I know about these well-known artists living in my town? I'm sure everyone else did. Even worse, I have seen the murals around town and I didn't even bother to see who the artists were...until now. Sorry guys!

Beamer Park Elementary, 525 Beamer Street, artist Malaquias Montoya. The mural is inspired by one of the elementary school's favorite folk songs, "De Colores," which celebrates color in spring, birds and rainbows. - UC Davis News

Here's a little background:
Among the most prominent living Chicano artists, Malaquias Montoya's work is in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum in Chicago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and more than a dozen other museums, libraries and universities. He is a renowned artist, activist, and professor of Chicana/Chicano studies and art and art history at UC Davis and his students help him paint the murals during their class.

Freeman Elementary School, artist Malaquias Montoya.

His son, Maceo Montoya, grew up in the small town of Elmira, California. He comes from a family of artists and is an educator and author, as well. He graduated from Yale University in 2002 and received his Master of Fine Arts in painting from Columbia University in 2006. He has completed numerous public art commissions, including a mural at Yale University’s La Casa Cultural Center. He has also worked on murals with the Eastside Arts Alliance in Oakland and Taller Arte Del Nuevo Amenecer (TANA) in Woodland, where he has worked as an instructor. He presently lives in Woodland where he paints and writes.

6 West Court Street, artist Maceo Montoya. As a director of the project, Mr. Montoya has been working with students ranging from middle school to high school to develop a design for a community mural project.

These are only a few from the Montoyas, I'll post more murals from them soon.

We have more public art murals in town by other artists. We had two historic murals hung outside the historic Woodland Opera house. They were canvases instead of being painted directly on the wall. Unfortunately, they didn't stand up to the wild storms we get sometimes.

Mural on historic Woodland Opera House, Woodland, CA. Building pictured was the terminal for the Sacramento Northern interurban electric railroad.

These are the two canvas murals before they were blown/taken down. I can't find who painted them.

I found this Elephant mural as I was driving home. It used to be the Crocodeli, but now it's The Elephant Hut. I tried to find out about the artist, NorCal Custom Murals, but I couldn't even find a website.

The Elephant Hut Deli, Kentucky Rd. Painted by NorCal Custom Murals.

If you want to see these murals, and more, come see "The Art of Public Art” – showcasing the art and artists of public art installations around the county. Gallery 625, 625 Court St, Woodland, 530-406-4844, info@yoloarts.org. Reception: Friday, April 2, 5:30 pm.

Also, when you are out and about in your town, snaps some pictures of YOUR city's public murals and post them on http://murallocator.org.

North of the Line Cafe for S.T.E.P.

2010-02-20T20:11:00.000-08:00

This inspirational mural is for the S.T.E.P Agency in Sacramento. This is the biggest mural I've painted so far. It's in their large multi-purpose room where most of their clients hang out, eat, having meetings, etc. They wanted to make the room more inviting while creating a visual that encompassed their philosophies and principles.

The start of the mural. The only part painted on the bottom half are the tree roots.

They were great clients because not only were they very prepared, they knew exactly what they wanted in the images and quotes.

At the same time, they allowed me some creative freedom in how the images would be symbolized and tied together.

I did a very detailed sketch of this mural, even doing some close-ups to use in my opaque projector.

There are many different kinds of projectors, but this one got good reviews for my price range. After using it, the only downsides I've found are that the projection area is a bit small and it isn't as bright as I would like.

I used the projector for most of the mural since it was so big. I needed to make sure I got the spacing correct. Plus, it was very helpful when drawing the text. I used paint pens for filling in the text. It made it much easier to create the fine lines and curves of the words.

There was a lot of climbing up and down ladders since the mural was on the top half of the wall.

Even though I didn't know sign language, it was great to have the clients of S.T.E.P. come in and say "hi" and check out my work.

You can see the whole mural in a Flash scrolling picture (second thumbnail in on the top row) if you go to my portfolio website, Griffmobile Designs.

Hero Character Development

2010-02-17T09:22:00.000-08:00

Thanks to suggestions from my Facebook page, I got a kick start to my heros brainstorming sketches. I've come up with mural ideas for the fish and the dog. I'm thinking about adding some text to the mural, like a short description of their powers, or maybe just their superhero name. No, I haven't come up with those. I will see if the client already has ideas for names.

At first, I was drawing the fish as a swimmer, but then I was told a superhero fish HAS TO be able to walk. Duh!

Here she (yeah, I think of the fish as a "she")is in her natural environment. She is the protector of small sea critters! The turtle is suppose to look happy or relieved. I might have to work on that.

Next is the superhero dog. He flies, he saves, he enjoys a good bone at the end of his day. Notice the bone belt, hehee.

His mural will be set at the end of the day, as he surveys the land, satisfied with all his good deeds and his tasty bone.

A Few More Birdies

2010-02-14T23:14:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! The family and I had a nice day working in the garden, then a bike ride to the park for slides and swings, Beabug's favorite thing to do right now.

I was also able to finish up the "birds on a branch" murals in the bathroom. I did a couple quick sketches before I started drawing on the walls. I should have planned out the whole thing first, but I decided to "wing" it, hee hee.

A few quick sketches by mommy in pen, and a couple sketches by Beabug, in the top left corner, in crayon. She has one of my old pads of paper that she draws on with her colored pencils (crayons we are still working on drawing with them, instead of eating them). She gets very serious while drawing; leaning in, scribbling intensely and constantly demanding a fresh piece of paper. What a budding artist!

The finished mural behind the toilet at my husband's request so, "the men can have something to look at."

I thought I'd add a little one to enjoy on the way out of the room! Maybe I should add a little quote, "Don't forget to tweet out the light!"
Okay, maybe I'm not the best writer...

Odd Superheros Unite!

2010-02-11T12:54:00.000-08:00

I've been commissioned to paint a superheros mural in a kids' playroom. Here's the twist, they want "different" characters, like a bear, a dog, a duck or goose and maybe, a fish. Sounds fun, right?

What should these superheros do? They want the bear to be holding up a crumbling wall. Maybe the dog should be on a hill, with his cape flowing majestically behind him. I'm thinking the duck should have super-sonic sight, flying over the earth. What about the fish, though? What should the power be for the superhero fish?

Prowling the seas, maps and more

2010-02-09T08:44:00.000-08:00

I was in my third trimester with The BeaBug when I was contacted by Pamela Turner about doing some illustrations for a children's science book she was writing. The topic was about animals from the website I had been working on, TOPP.org.

She asked me about creating some maps and diagrams for her book, and I thought, sure I can squeeze in one more job before giving birth! Turns out The BeaBug decided to come a month early, so I spent a week in a hospital bed, finishing up some of these maps!

Anyway, everything turned out great, including the beautiful baby girl and the maps for Prowling The Seas: Exploring the Hidden World of Ocean Predators by Pamela S. Turner. It was published in late 2009 October by Walker Books for Young Readers.

Sooty Shearwater birds are extremely long-distance migrants who tend to fly by themselves instead of in a flock. These birds can travel up to 45,981 miles a year!

Leatherback turtles are very old. In the last three decades, 95 percent of the leatherbacks in the eastern Pacific Ocean have disappeared. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) lists leatherbacks as critically endangered. Their biggest threat: humans, who catch them accidentally in nets and on fishing lines, and who develop their nesting sites.

Bluefin Tuna fish are warm-blooded giants: up to 1,500 pounds (684 kg) and 15 feet (4.58 meters) long. That’s another human longer than the tallest human being. They can hit speeds up to 60 mph and dive to 600 feet.

If you would like to see more of my illustrations, please purchase a copy of the book. It's a really amazing look at the life of these animals ( including a white shark) which will fascinate any young reader.

Birds on a Branch, Pt. 2

2010-02-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

I was able to finish up the mural last night. It was relatively easy since it was one color and a simple design. I think to finish off the room, another small mural on the wall behind the toilet. Maybe two birds flying?

These are some of my supplies. I use a large fishing box to carry around my main supplies like pencils, erasers, paint can openers, acrylic paints, and paint brushes. I started out with a smaller box, but each new one keeps getting bigger! It's very convenient and much cheaper than an artist box.

I use a mix of latex and acrylic paints. I mostly use the latex for large sections of color, but it tends to be translucent so I usually mix it with some white acrylic. When I go get a batch mixed up at Home Depot, I always check out there "reject paint" area. There tends to be some pretty interesting colors that people didn't like, or returned.

For this mural, I had a small can of brown latex paint that was almost the color I wanted. I mixed in a little of my warmer browns and oranges.

You can see it still wasn't opaque enough, so I had to paint two coats. Luckily in this case, latex and acrylic dry quickly. Once I got through with the first coat, I was able to go back to the beginning and start the second coat right away.

The finished mural! I think it turned out pretty well. I have a couple sketches of fluttering birds, I'm thinking about putting those on the opposite wall. A nice outcome for a fast mural, don't ya think?

Free Museum Day in Sacramento!

2010-02-05T20:25:00.000-08:00

It's free museum day tomorrow in the Sacramento area! It's free admission, all day long, at 26 Sacramento area museums. This is a great annual tradition which provides a fun activity for the whole family, and ya get some education, too!

http://www.sacmuseums.org/museumday.html

Birds on a Branch, Pt. 1

2010-02-05T08:42:00.000-08:00

My neighbor is having a baby soon and she was looking for a way to decorate. She found some really nice decal murals, you know, peal and stick. They are actually really cute, whimsical and loose.

Since most of my walls are still blank, (I know, I know, I'm a muralist, but it was a brand-new house and I wanted to enjoy that!) I started looking to see if I could find one I like. Then I thought, heck, I should just paint it myself! So, I started my faux-decal "birds on a branch" mural in our guest bathroom.

No matter how simple the design is, it's always a good idea to sketch it out first. The idea in your head my look differently on paper.

Sometimes I use a projector, but most of the time I draw it by hand directly on to the wall. I find this works a little better because it allows flexibility in the spacing of the elements. A projector works well for me with very large, or detailed, or precise murals.

This mural is going to be a silhouette, just one color, so it should be a fairly fast paint. I probably just jinxed myself.

2010-02-04T19:38:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone -

I am a Sacramento area artist, designer, mom and wife. I hope that you find my musings about my artistic process, my whimsical style and my goofy, but loving family interesting enough to stick around and see what comes next!