October, 2011

September was a busy, creative month on this artistic voyage. Some things that kept me busy . . .

• Finalized Broadmoor Resort signage for The Boutique
• Finalized Broadmoor Resort signage for the New Broadmoor Holiday Shoppe!
• Finalized a Paris theme nursery for a Baby Girl
• Ideas Approved for the Broadmoor Resort Children’s Shop
• Designs approved for two ceilings at the Broadmoor Resort

Creating Signs for the Broadmoor Resort

As mentioned in the August Newsletter I have been working on new signs for The Boutique and the new Broadmoor Christmas House/A Holiday Shoppe. In total there will be two double sided signs and two single sided signs. My how technology has changed over the years. Instead of hand painting every aspect of the signs I hand painted the decorative areas, photographed the paintings, dropped them into my computer, opened them in Photoshop, made color adjustments (can be way time consuming) and proceeded to layout the sign to the correct size and shape. This sign measured 24″ x 24″.

The text was decided upon, placed on the page, adjustments made to the size, kerning and style. Samples were printed, the artwork was burned to a CD and taken to the sign shop and a few more trips to proof the printouts for color, layout and shape. I cannot say it is quicker to create a sign this way, the advantage will be that as the signs age and possibly fade in the sunlight or perhaps even gets damaged the old sign can be peeled off and a new one can be printed out and applied in a short period of time making this cost effective in the long run. The Christmas signs measure
30″ x 48″ and 24″ x 40″.

The Broadmoor Children’s Shop

Sketches have been approved for some fun things in the Broadmoor Children’s Shop. More about that next month.

Painting a Nursery

Mural with a Paris Theme

A proud grandmother contacted me in regard to painting a nursery for her first granddaughter. What a special gift for her son and daughter-in-law. The young couple had fallen in love with Paris after vacationing there and wanted that as a theme. They knew they wanted a tree with flowers and the baby’s name above her bed but they also wanted some very personal items added.

The new parents had both lost their fathers and wanted to incorporate things into the mural that reminded them of their fathers. The new mother’s father had been a pilot and she wanted his plane added. The young father knew his father had always wanted a basset hound but never had one.

Something I like to add to children’s murals, when it is appropriate, is a growth chart. A whimsical, girly Eiffel Tower seemed the perfect thing to serve as a growth chart for Devon. Plus this served as a nice background for her grandfather and his dog and an object of interest for her other grandfather flying his plane.

I might mention that the paternal grandmother also known as “Mia’ to her grandchildren, created all the beautiful bedding for the newborn’s nursery.

Q  Do you have any tips for painting on a rough surface?

A What I’ve learned over the years when painting on a low to medium
textured wall: For the delicate lettering I painted on the medium textured wall
in the nursery above I used a Windsor & Newton #4 Regency Gold 530. Liner
brushes are one of my favorite brushes. Because of the long bristles you can
begin the letters with a narrow hairline stroke adding pressure to increase the
width to over one fourth inch and back to a hairline in one stoke, in most
cases. To do this you need the correct amount of moisture in your brush bristles and the right consistency of paint.

Five Tips that help when painting on a rough surface . . .

1. Begin with the right amount of water in your brush. Wet your brush, tap on a paper towel or damp sponge before you fill your bristles with paint. Keep paint about 1/8th-1/4th from ferrule.

2. Your paint needs to be the right consistency. This can vary according to the paint finish, i.e. the more matte the finish the more drag on the bush.

3. The speed at which you paint can determine how smooth your paint goes on and whether or not it skips the surface. Again this is determined by the finish of
the surface you are painting and the consistency of your paint.

4. Don’t forget, the pressure you apply determines the width of the line, the
more pressure the wider the line.

5. I often hold my breath as I am painting a line, exhaling slowly toward the
end of the stroke.

Most importantly, don’t fight the texture. Once you learn the above techniques
your lines should appear smoother over a light to medium textured surface.

Something else I’ve learned; practice is the only way to improve your brush strokes on any surface and don’t expect perfection. There is no such thing.

On a personal note. . .

September turned into a challenging month on the home front. Colorado Springs received over 4-5 inches of rain within four hours and was combined with very high winds. The home I bought a little over a year ago had been redecorated with lovely colors, new floors and there had never had a problem with water coming in . . . until September 12th.

At this writing, about nine days later, I am still living with large fans blowing day and night. The fans in my bedroom were taken away two days ago so I am back to sleeping in my bed. Thank you, God. If this was a test I came close to failing. Not being irritable has been a challenge. I am told tonight should be the last night for the fans. Then to the dusting and cleaning and that is before the repairs begin. Arrrrrrgh, this too shall pass.

Bella’s Insight

Happy Autumn Everybody! What a beautiful time of year. Mom and I headed to the mountains to check out the pretty leaves. I was thinking, “Oh, ho hum, yep that’s just how I want to spend my Sunday afternoon.” But guess what, pretty leaves are OK plus we got to see some BIG animals called cows, horses, elk and deer (I’ve seen lots of deer, you don’t have to go far for that in Colorado Springs!) Somehow Kimba doesn’t seem quite so big any more.

Well, another interesting thing we got to see was the Victor/Cripple Creek Mine Project. WOOOOOW! It went on f o r e v e r, I’m talkin’ miles and miles. Mom told me that for a real long time Cripple Creek Mining was a series of underground mines. Since 1994 it has become an open-pit operation and employs nearly 400 people. I’m telling you this place is huge. When you come to visit Colorado it is a Must See!

Oh yeah, one more thing. I’m missing some people. You see this past summer two of my pinochle buddies moved to New Mexico and they have only come back to see me once. How can they possibly stay away from me that long?!? Here are the missing people. Just so you know they are nice and very happy, will probably have smiles on their faces.

If you see them tell them “Hi, from Bella.”