Arianna’s mural is finally finished!

by Meredith 12. June 2013 22:28

I started working on her room back in October of 2011 with texture painting all of the walls and adding new paint to the trim. In November of 2011 I painted the arches of night sky and then the project sat, and sat, and sat until January 2013. Granted, was 6+ months pregnant and Arianna was born during that gap. After that it only took me about five months of working on the room off and on. It was definitely much harder to work around two kids than one.

Arianna's Mural: Moving into the Room

by Meredith 9. June 2013 06:30

Busy weekend getting stuff done! Arianna has been moved into her bedroom and I think she likes it. She slept there last night and seemed to do OK. She did cry out a few times but resettled easily. Madeline was a super awesome builder girl and helped me put the shelves together for Ari's toys. Both girls had a blast pulling out and putting away all of the toys. We still have little projects to finish up in there like power outlet covers and curtains. The murals look even better with furniture in the room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaving a Mystery for Scholars to Ponder Over

by Meredith 5. June 2013 06:22

All the painting supplies have been cleared out of Arianna's room and the walls have been washed. I'm going to vacuum tonight and maybe steam clean (children willing). Pretty sure this will be the cleanest her room will be until she moves out.

I found a minor mistake in the mural, something I marked to edit but then forgot about. I've decided to leave it. Years after I'm dead and scholars are studying my work they will wonder "what was this mark supposed to be?"

Arianna's Mural: Final touches are complete

by Meredith 4. June 2013 22:22

CastleIf the castle window is deemed done then that's it, I'm totally finished painting Arianna's room. Time to celebrate and move this baby girl into her own room!

 

 

 

 

 

Arianna's Mural: Question

by Meredith 4. June 2013 07:04

Castle window optionI need a critical eye and Hunter is not here to help. Do you see the sun and the moon in this or is it too abstract?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arianna's Mural: Airship

by Meredith 2. June 2013 22:17

No epic adventure is complete without a ship. The story playing out in Madeline's murals has a ship based on the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia). The story within Arianna's murals places us out on that ship, looking up, and dreaming about the sky. Why wouldn't the next adventure take us up into the sky?

 

 

 

 

O' phoenix, burn you bright into this night!

by Meredith 1. June 2013 10:01

PhoenixArianna, your mamma is outdoing herself again. I hope you like it as much as I do. I am really, really happy with out the phoenix turned out. I was really torn during the planning stages of the mural about what was going to go in this spot. I felt in needed to be a critter (Madeline has two dragons and a bunch of birds, after all). Going with the night theme my original thought was a owl would be appropriate. While owls are cool, I just didn't think it would be exciting enough. A mythical creature sounded like a good idea and one that glowed in some way seemed like the best option. A glowing bird with long tail feathers was the perfect fit and created a balance between the two rooms. Plus the added bonus of Aries being a fire sign.

 

 

 

 

 

Arianna's Mural: Adding Aries

by Meredith 25. May 2013 21:58

AriesOther work that was completed yesterday (and a bit from before that) is the background around Argo, Cetus, and Virgo. The guidelines are centered on Hamal, the brightest star of the Aries constellation. Aries is Arianna's zodiac sign and I just could figure out how to work a ram into the aquatic theme that was going on in that section of the mural.

The consolation was to create ram's head arches around the windows, and give a little extra emphasis to the Aries constellation. Plan is to apply base paint and then cut my template apart and draw in each of the pieces for outlines. In theory, by using a template they should all turn out identical. Assuming I don't find a way to mess it up.

 

Aries template

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arianna's Mural: Dance fairy, dance!

by Meredith 20. May 2013 21:56

FairyLong day today but I got much needed work done. Some house cleaning (which never ends) and work on Arianna's mural were highlights. Fairies are done, castle is almost done. I pulled the tape off so I can start the borders.

Brian Froud is a huge inspiration for my fairy paintings. All of the fae have been inspired from his sketches and I've tried to add little touches that make them mine. Like in Madeline's room I wanted a touch of music added to the mural. In the window the little guy is playing a fae guitar and the girl fairy is dancing to his music. Because it is night time they needed a little lamp to illuminate their dalliance. Girl Fairy's dress was painted to correlate to the phoenix that will be painted on the other wall.

The castle is nearly completed (still need to work out the stained glass window design). Painting this castle has been a real challenge. I have no idea what direction the light needs to be coming from. Typically objects in the night get darker as they recede into the background, but atmosphere can make objects appear lighter. There are multiple light sources with the moon, torches, and windows. I'm hoping that my choices make sense and the castle looks as if it is sitting on a bluff at night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arianna's Mural: Remaining finished stars

by Meredith 14. April 2013 21:23

Here are a few more photos. Argo and Pisces

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monocerus, Orion, and Cetus












About Meredith Cook

Welcome to my repository of creative expression. I'm not a happy camper unless I am making something and over the years I have dabbled in quite a few different kinds of art projects. Some projects come from taking art classes, others are completely hobby driven, and projects like home decor come from a need to customize an item and make it better or unique. The overall theme behind what I do is to learn how to manipulate objects and practice what I know about visual aesthetic and good design. Oh yeah, and to have fun.

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