Vintage Scale Re-Vamp

  I haven't posted any new paintings in a while, but I have been busy! I decided to share some of the other things that I've been working on.
  I wanted to try this chalk paint that is all the rage, so I bought a sample jar and experimented on this retro scale we picked up at a yard sale. They threw it in for free when we bought a couple fishing rods! I almost didn't take it because it was so unsightly. It took some serious elbow grease, but turned out to be a cute little piece for the new bathroom.
  I took photos along the way...

This is how it looked when I started. There were segments of the original grippy plastic top that needed to be chipped off. It was heinously dirty and I didn't realize how many nooks and crannies this thing has until I started cleaning.

 

It needed a layer of something on the top to cover the holes and make it more comfortable to step on. I was hoping to find something jazzy rather than just replacing the plain black top and when I came across some leftover paintable wallpaper I got exxxxxxcited. This stuff is easy to cut with a blade and has a sort of squishy 3-D texture which I thought would be nice to stand on.

 
  To make a stencil, I chose a tracing paper with a weight that was easy to bend but not easy to tear. I didn't get any photos of this step, but It was relatively simple. I first tore a line down the middle of the tracing paper where the handle comes down. Then I was able to slip the paper underneath the handle and have flaps on either side that came up high enough to meet the grooved chrome area. Then I traced the perimeter of the area I wanted the wallpaper to cover, slid the tracing paper off the scale and cut it out with scissors to create a stencil.
  The next step was to choose the placement of my stencil on the wallpaper pattern. I played with it a couple ways and decided on my favorite. The wallpaper cuts much better upside down because it is an untextured paper on the back side. I attached the stencil to the back side of the wallpaper with double-sided tape and cut around it with a sharp blade.

  This is how it looked after a coat of 'Old Violet' Annie Sloane chalk paint. I bought it because I really liked this color, but at the time I didn't have a project in mind.

The scale had lots of dings and scrapes on it so I masked off all of the chrome and glass and gave it a coat of semi-gloss spray paint.

  I had to fold the wallpaper a bit to get it under the handle. Then I put some spots of rubber cement on the underside of the wallpaper and stuck it down to visualize the finished product.

 

I am in love with this color and the scale came out great, but I decided they don't suit each other.

 

  So I re-painted it matte black and voila.

Kitchen Mouse!!!

We just got a really cute infestation in our kitchen...

A friend spotted a little mouse hole painted on the curb and sent me a picture of it. I loved it so much that I made my own version in our kitchen. I hope she can get along with the cats.

Upcoming Art Class!

My March class at North Light Community Center in Roxborough is now open for enrollment. This facility has a nice big Arts and Crafts room, which I am familiar with from teaching for the after school program. I have some really fun ideas for this class and kids are going to take home a great little project each time we meet. I am looking forward to meeting my new group and seeing all our creations!
ABC's of Art and Art History (ages 8-14)
Learn more about North Light Community Center

I was going through an old hard drive of photos (while putting together my new website!) and I came across a whole series of photos of a painting that I completely forgot existed. I have no idea what happened to this painting, but I do remember making it. It is really not my style so it's sort of an interesting mystery to me. I think that in the end I just primed over it and reused the canvas. Anyhow, here's how it developed...

I have been a bit behind with blogging, as usual. I've had a stream of small commissions that keep me busy and lots of big life changes are finally settling down. Many exciting things are on the horizon for me and I am feeling pretty happy!
First off, I have been volunteer teaching at North Light Community Center in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia. Last week was my last session with their after school program and I am gearing up for a really exciting new class that will begin in March. I can follow up shortly with the final info for that program and how to sign up. Check out North Light's website here and check out the news on an upcoming documentary featuring North Light here!
I finally relaunched my website, which I had to rename (slightly) because I accidentally let my domain ownership lapse and some other artistic Moore snatched it up! I am working out the kinks on that project and will post a link for that soon as well.
The large geese wetscape for my painting swap with Ron Smythe is complete and needs to be delivered...

My latest landscape-meets-animal painting is still sketchy and has been developing really slowly, but I'm excited about the idea. The main tree in this painting was drawn from a huge limb that I could see out of my studio window in the old Mount Airy apartment. Now that I have moved, it has become a totally different tree. Also, I have been working on the thing for so long that the seasons have changed several times! I decided to accept this as part of the history of this painting, and let the background fracture into segments that each show the season during which they were painted. So far, we've got summer, fall and winter...I hope that spring doesn't creep in!