SHARK !

SHARK !!!

SHARK! Tiger-Shark that is! To be more specific, the Trafalgar Middle School Mascot. The Kiwanis Builders Club of Cape Coral decided to have the school’s mascot painted onto the school’s cafeteria wall and to appear as if it is bursting through a brick wall. It turned out to be one of my favorite projects to date. The club’s leaders wanted to pitch in. It was fun showing the girls various techniques and getting to know them. It also gives me hope for the future knowing there are kids with such good heads on their shoulders.

Speaking of heads on their shoulders, the shark's mouth is the perfect height for a photo- op 

 Twins Breann and Brielle, amazing helpers.

School Principal and Asst. Principal before project begins:

Day 1 : The faux brick wall begins:

Breann painted so enthusiastically; she wore out a sponge. It served nobly.

The twins, proud of the work !

Almost done:

Our Tiger Shark Completed. A slight teal sheen is glazed over it's skin ( teal is the school's main team color). The water was painted using various shades of blue and white with some having a heavy bodied gloss gel added in for effect. Additional flying bricks are painted to give movement to the piece. The entire mural received a clear top coat for protection.

Pano-view:

Water pours through the shark's lower teeth:

( Of course, this particular shark will always be known for his "mouth ribs". When standing in close proximity of the painting, you can see the various shades of burgundy and black that create the mouth's upper palate. Having a blonde moment, I called it the mouth ribs. Hope the girls don't have that question on an anatomy test )

The artist's signatures:

We did it ! Now looking forward to hearing the student's reactions to the master piece when school begins in  few weeks and to seeing the student's selfies with their mascot.

To have your own custom mural created, contact me at Swan Studios Inc: http://www.swanstudio.net

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#sharkmural #custommural #3Dmural #TrafalgarMiddlesSchool #KiwanisBuildersClub 

Happy National Tequila Day !

#NationalTequilaDay

Mermaid with a Pearl

This animation is from a glamorous mermaid mural painted on a lanai wall overlooking a pool and waterway. Everyone wants to be a mermaid !

#mermaid #mermaidmural #custommural #outdoormural

The Year was 1977...

The year was 1977…

Most homeowners will change their décor look every 5 to 8 years on average. Perhaps the changes may be to simply update the windows treatments, change the wall color, or switch some furnishings. Bathroom remodels hover around the 8 to 10-year mark. But 40 years later, it’s definitely time for an update. I was impressed that the Star Wars wallpaper from the original 1977 “Star Wars … A New Hope “remains beautiful intact and preserved in the office across the hall from the remodeled bath.

Once the new floors and vanities were in, rather than a mere paint color change, the homeowner wanted dimension for the walls. Silver metallic paint layered over a taupe base then troweled with  Lusterstone in varying light neutrals gives an updated a sophisticated look to the remodeled bath.

The hall bath connects with another sink arear creating a Jack and Jill bath:

If your own bathroom looks like the before photo...it's time to update your look.

Contact me at : Swan Studios Inc http://www.swanstudio.net/

Star Wars fans, don't be dismayed...they are keeping the 1977 Star Wars wallpaper:

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#remodel #fauxpainting #plasterfinish

Tin Roof-Rusted !

Tin Roof-Rusted !

Remember the B-52s little ditty “Love Shack”? A place where the whole shack shimmies and everybody’s groovin’.  Well everyone was groovin’ this week’s ceiling faux finish and ‘folks where linin’ up outside’ just to get a glimpse. This particular “little shack” wasn’t I a field but rather a hubby’s den. The home has a delightful by the side of the beach feel with driftwood floor finishes, splashes of seaside teal, and baubles evoking mermaid’s treasure. I’ve been blessed to create various faux finishes in the home. I’ll post former photos and links to those below. 

The goal was to create a concept within the theme but not a repeat of the other finishes. Creating a wood board look seemed too obvious and too boxed in (pun intended), even if the variation of color would be different than the floor and furnishings. And then inspiration came in the form of Rust! There’s beauty in decay. Years of weather and distress of time offers amazing palettes and reverie.

To create the look, first the border was marked off that would become the wood beams supporting the tin roof. The base of the aged faux wood was painted on, as well as, the metallic silver base of the tin roof. Since the “wood” would be more of a driftwood I used a blend of taupe and light grey.  A deeper metallic grey and chip brush gives the “tin roof” look. Two lines intentionally not space symmetrically where painted in with black. (Corrugation would have been too busy since the ceiling height of the room was low).  The really fun part was painting on the rust. The are various ways to create a rust look. I opted for using the Designer Rust by Faux Effects http://www.fauxeffects.com/ .  It has a wonderful grit to it making the rust very authentic, reminding me of the rust on the hinges and screens of the cabins where my family camped around Ft Morgan along the Gulf Shores when I was a little girl.

Once the faux wood was painted, rust is painted over onto it. Rusted nails are painted on to secure the beams and tin together. And, of course, chunks were painted out of the decaying wood to further create the look of decay.

Here are the links to other amazing finishes created in this home:

https://swanstudiosinc.blogspot.com/2018/10/solid-as-rock.html

 https://swanstudiosinc.blogspot.com/2016/12/give-me-more.html

https://swanstudiosinc.blogspot.com/2017/10/and-walls-came-tumbling-down.html

Sneak peek:

Ready for your own unique faux finishes? Or to paraphrase the B52s "let's make the whole place shimmy! "  Contact me at:

Swan Studio Inc

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#fauxpainting #rustedfauxfinish #rustedtinroof

A Kitchen Seasoned with Love

A Kitchen Seasoned with Love

Remember the adorable Pillsbury advertisement “ Nothing says lovin’ like something from the oven” ? I loved that ad and its cute pudgy dough boy. And its true- love comes from the kitchen. I spend a lot of time in mine. If I’m not painting, then I’m cooking. Occasionally both simultaneously which has led to some hilarious moments. Such as my husband mistakenly thinking a spoon was coated in chocolate batter when it was actually coated in a brown paint mixture. Or a bottle of sepia paint he thought was caramel sauce. I must admit that him sputtering and spitting and declaring “My God that tastes awful! “, did bring tears of laughter.  I’m blessed to have a kitchen filled with love and laughter. And I love cooking. Granted my family has tales of horror of my cooking adventures, but I’ve come a long way from the days of mistaking baking soda for baking powder ( too bad there weren’t cell phones back in those as 7 people around a breakfast table all gagged together on my biscuits) . And I’m proud to announce its been over a decade since I’ve exploded a chicken that flew from the kitchen up onto the family room ceiling fan. My Sweet Aussie husband now reaps the rewards of my former trial and errors and enjoys a home cooked meal every day, each seasoned with love.

Our kitchen has been sporting the typical SW Florida cabinetry of mid-tone almost orange wood finish like so many of the kitchens I have been changing for clients this year. It was time to refresh our cabinetry too. Husband loves the results and so do I. 

More views and close-ups

The infamous sepia paint David thought was caramel sauce:

Let's season you kitchen with love with new cabinet color. Contact me at Swan Studios Inc:

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#paintedcabinets #fauxpaintedcabinets #kitchencabinets

Found It !

Found It!

Found it! That was my exact quote as I drove a friend home after work. Downtown Ft. Myers has several roadside curbings that jut out around trees. Unfortunately, some are just as you turn a corner. Sure enough, as I turned a sharp corner and was as usual chatting away, she reminded me of the obstacle. “Found It”! I shouted with navigational skills on par with Christopher Columbus. The right side of the vehicle ungracefully bounced over the concrete nuisance. But tree and passengers were all safe.

Speaking of navigation, I was recently requested to illustrate famous historical men responsible for great exploration discoveries. The first two chosen were Bartholomew Diaz and Mercator. The illustrations are acrylic on canvas board. For added fun, once photographed the illustrations receive some animation.

Bartholomew Diaz depicted on the shore of Cape of Good Hope:

Bartholomew Diaz, a Portugal Explorer, set sail in 1488. He was the first European to sail around the southern most tip of Africa. He would establish the route from Europe to Asia. The discovery of the passage around southern Africa was significant because, for the first time, Europeans could trade directly with India and the Far East, bypassing the overland Euro-Asian route with its expensive European, Middle Eastern and Central Asian middlemen.

The Illustration reflects Diaz on the shore of what is now known as the Cape of Good Hope. Although Diaz originally named it the Cape of Storms (Cabo das Tormentas), it would later be renamed by King John II of Portugal as the Cape of Good Hope (Cabo da Boa Esperanca) because it represented the opening of a route to the east

Gerardus Mercator depicted with Netherland background and globe with rhumb lines:

Gerardus Mercator was a 16th-century Flemish cartographer, geographer and cosmographer. He was renowned for creating the 1569 world map based on a new projection which represented sailing courses of constant bearing (rhumb lines) as straight lines. The Mercator projection, a cylindrical map projection, is preferred by navigators because the ship can sail in a constant compass direction to reach its destination, eliminating difficult and error-prone course corrections. His innovation is still employed in nautical charts.

Gerardus Mercator was one of the founders of the Netherlandish school of cartography and is widely considered the most notable figure of the school in its golden age (approximately 1570s–1670s).

If you have a project in need of illustration, contact Swan Studios Inc at:

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#illustrator #artist #painter