Happy Father's Day !

Happy Father's Day!

#FathersDay #FathersDay2025

Happy International Dinosaur Day!

Happy International Dinosaur Day!

#DinosaurDay #internationaldinosaurday #dinosaurmural 

Poolside in Costa Rica

Poolside in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is nestled between Nicaragua and Panama with coastlines of both the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.  Costa Rica is known as the world’s largest coffee producer and for its stunning natural wonders- like the volcanoes.

I had the pleasure of painting one of the glorious volcanoes in Costa Rica and giving the scene a very personalized twist. The homeowner had enjoyed a lovely vacation down in Costa Rica and wanted a tropical pool with a view of a volcano. The personalized twist was adding in some of the beloved cats and dogs into the scene.

 The scene is painted on the upper wall in the dining room: 

Here’s a close-up view of the pets:

Ready for your own personalized mural scene? Contact me at Swan Studios Inc. 

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#CostaRicamural #volcanomural #custommural

Happy National Alligator Day!

Happy National Alligator Day!

#alligatorday #NationalAlligatorDay 

Soul Lifting Beach

Soul Lifting Beach

In Southwest Florida, beach scenes are the most frequently requested type of mural.  I’ve had the pleasure of painting them inside and outside. Some of the scenes have been tranquil and serene, often just a gentle blue sky over gentle waters or a sunset over a deep teal ocean. Some have been bursting with color and energy. Quite often there will be a request to do something to personalize the scene. Those requests have ranged from the owners’ pets being in the mural, their grandchildren in the mural, a specific number of shells and birds to represent family members, signs on the beach with the number of miles to their other homes, and in the case of a commercial mural their logo turned into a palm tree. This week I had a first though. A large ship’s helm with scripture verses around it as it centers over a beach. It was absolutely delightful to paint such a meaningful mural for the homeowners. Spending time viewing this beach will lift their spirits and lift their soul.

A lighthouse is on the island in the background to represent Jesus.

A close-up view of the helm:

Here are a few other personalized beach scenes: 

Grandkids stand next to their images on this personalized beach scene:

A boy and girl hold hands walking along  sunset beach representing the homeowners:

The palm tree in this beach scene has signs posted on it of the homeowner's other favorite places:

                The company logo sits atop the tree trunks in this colorful commercial beach scene:

Ready for your own custom mural? Contact me at Swan Studios Inc

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#beachmural #scripturemural

National Law Enforcement Week

National Law Enforcement Week

In honor of National Law Enforcement Week: Excerpts from murals and artwork honoring those that serve.

#policemural #sheriffmural #nationallawenforcementweek
 

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mother's Day

#happymothersday #womeninart #womeninmurals

 

Happy National Mother Ocean Day

Happy National Mother Ocean Day

#motheroceanday

 

Cats by Swan Studios Inc.

Cats from my custom mural works and book illustrations

#catart

May the 4th be With You !

 

#maythe4th #maythe4thbewithyou

Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day

#happyearthday #earthday

 

Happy Easter

Happy Easter !

 #happyeaster

Palm Frond Entry

Palm Frond Entry

If you live in SW Florida, most likely you have a love for palm trees. I sure do. And thankfully, my customers love them too. The palm tree and palm frond motifs are a highly requested item to have painted both indoors and outdoors.

Here’s fun recent motif of the Fan Palm panted to dance across the walls of a condo entry way:

For this mural I created my own stencil onsite. Drawing the first leaf onto butcher paper to get the scale the way we wanted. Then just duplicated it along the 2 walls so that it looks more like large motif wallpaper.

Most of the time, I just freehand the palms. Here’s a few more concepts I’ve painted:

 

Layers of Sand Faux Finish

Layers of Sand Faux Finish

The laid-back lifestyle enjoying days on the beach is one of the many reasons people choose to live here in beautiful SW Florida. Even if their days aren’t always literally on the beach, the beach still influences their lifestyle and home décor. (I’ve never taken an official count but I’m pretty sure every home here has at least one shell in it somewhere). Today’s modern soft natural aesthetic works perfectly for those wanting the gentle shades of sand and whisper grey in their home to bring the beach indoors. And that’s exactly what this faux finish does for this primary bath.

The goal was to have the room bright white and airy while keeping in mind that the original tile would remain. The base color is Sherwin Williams 7005.

 Two shades of creamy/sand color were layered on in a mock watercolor effect. Here I used Sherwin Williams SW6099 Sand Dollar and SW 6106 Kilim Beige.

The last step was to periodically streak in Silver metallic.

The overall effect is similar to layers of sand you see in glass jars and absolutely perfect for the home that has soft neutrals all through out

Ready for your own unique creation? Contact Swan Studios Inc

 

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#fauxfinish #fauxpainting

 

Measuring Up

 

Measuring Up

Continuing the adorable cartoon alligator’s painted at Gator Mike’s Family Fun Park in Cape Coral, Fl, they now show patron’s how tall they need to be for the various activities.

A few new gator friends demonstrate the fun of zooming across the zipline:

 

The original cartoon alligators were painted in one of the 3 party rooms Gator Mike’s has to offer:

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#alligatormural #childrensmural #partyroommural #funparkmural

Faux Driftwood on Front Door

 

Faux Driftwood on Front Door

A favorite pastime here in SW Florida is finding driftwood along the Gulf shores. There’s something appealing to the gentle bleached out colors and easy texture that almost makes you hear the sun dappling down as the waves gentle polish fallen branches. The treasure finds of driftwood are used locally to create art, bowls, are or used to grace tablescapes. But their beauty doesn’t have to stop there. It can even be used to create a welcome feel to a front door. Granted it would be hard to find a piece large enough to be processed for a front door but that can be rectified by recreating the look with a faux painted finish.

Here’s a look a recent front entry faux painted to look like driftwood:

Close Up View:

There were 5 different surface types to paint over: the door itself, stucco in 2 different textures, silicone, and metal strips. First step was to ensure the surface is clean. Second step, I used Bulls eye 1-2-3. Typically, I use it in white, but in this case, it seemed appropriate to use grey Bulls Eye 1-2-3. I created my own base color utilizing Duramax Antique White with a touch of Cabin Plank. It mixes to an almost flesh tone look. Using chip brushes a tan and Aqua Glaze mix was streaked over top and just a touch of medium grey every so often. Antique white and aqua glaze mix was gently streaked in for a pickling effect. Modern Masters in Matte finishes it off and gives the front door extra protection.

 

Driftwood Faux Finish can be used anywhere in your home:

Tables:

Mirrors:

Clocks:

Fireplace Mantles:

Surrounds:

Looking for a beach wood effect in your home, contact Swan Studios Inc

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#fauxdriftwood #fauxwoodfinish #fauxwoodpainting

God Bless the Firefighters

God Bless the Firefighters

We’re now 8 days into the devastating fires raging through California. Our hearts go out to all those who have literally had their lives turned into ashes. We send continued prayers and praises for the incredibly brave firefighters who are doing all they can to protect life. Your sacrifice, servitude, and bravery give all of us hope. May God watch over you and bless you.

I’m honored to have been commissioned to paint a tribute to firefighters throughout the years here in SW Florida. 

Located at Love Boat Ice Cream , Cape Coral, Florida.

Located at Love Boat Ice Cream, Sanibel, Florida

Located at Love Boat Ice Cream on Dani St, Fort Myers, Florida

Located at Love Boat Ice Cream Downtown Ft Myers, Florida

For a high school fire academy Lehigh Acres, Florida

In prayer for all of California, Swan Studios Inc.

#californiafires #firefightermural