Chicken Chat

This is a mural I painted a few years ago for a very sweet lady that loved chickens. I think of them as just chatting  about all the barnyard gossip. lol There are longhorns and horny toads(horned frogs) in the picture - for University of Texas and TCU for their grandchild that was going to go to one the schools when the time came.The other two on 6" tile-they were too busy to gossip.

Although I think of all my murals as my babies, sometimes one just stands out as a favorite. I really liked the way this one came out- maybe it's the warmth that wood brings to a room or the different angle of the table. This has a vase that the customer owned along with wine label and sunflowers that added special meaning to the mural for her. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Usually, when I meet with a customer for the first time- they have things they would love to see in their mural. Sometimes, it is something that they love like cats or roosters or a setting-like Italy. Sometimes it is a statement of who they are and what is important to them.  My job is to  put it all together in a way that works for them and looks nice at the same time. This mural was combining a bible verse, a cross, a stream, an urn,a bowl of fruit,vines, loaves of  bread,maybe the wrought iron like in their new home...After talking a while, it seemed the best thing was to go with a window view including the stonework and the same arched window from their new home. This is what I came up with that combined everything. I was happy with the design and more importantly so was the customer.

Chumash Cave Paintings

Okay-I'm really not great at keeping up with this blog-maybe someday I'll get better at this! lol I have several I want to share so maybe this time I will keep posting on it.

Not all of my paintings are fruit and wine -I get to make some interesting paintings for people that have different plans for their home to make it match things that are important to them - especially if you love the history and life of people from our past.this going.

  

This one  is of some cave drawings that I painted for a lady in California building her home in an area that was where the Chumash Indian tribe had once lived. They were a small tribe and there is not a lot available on line about them. I was sent a book cover that showed some of their art that the customer really liked.  I looked on line for more -and this is what I came up with to show their style and hopefully represent their culture.  It is painted on 12  inch stone -3 high by 3 wide-I painted it to fit the area so the tile could be installed without cutting (but I did crop the picture). Here is the finished installation - I hope you enjoy:)

Texas Deco Tile

Here are some 6 inch stone deco tiles that I paint in honor of this great state of Texas-my home. Of course, you have to have a star! I also have the armadillo, spur, and cowboy boots.  Texas wild flowers are quite popular, too. I've been known to paint a cowboy hat w/ gloves,barbed wire, and even painted a ladie's tattoo of a yellow rose and horseshoe with barbed wire! I love this work-always a new adventure!

Mustangs

I find that I'm not great at putting posts up on a blog-but I will try to do more:) This is a car that I recently painted for a graduation gift. As a person who enjoys cars-especially older ones, I think this new Mustang is a beautiful new car-and a lot more reliable than the old Triumphs that we enjoy!

China painting -the LHJ way

 To paint a mural for a shower installation, it was better to paint on porcelain or ceramic tile than stone. If the painting were on stone, it would not last as well since the stone is a soft material and the water from the shower would eventually erode the painting. On a glazed tile, it would be fired  in a kiln and become part of the glaze making it more durable.
This is a mural that I recently painted for a shower. This is done in china paint on ceramic tile.

This is how the painting looked after the first firing. In this process the paint is made from ground minerals(china paint) that are mixed with oils and painted in layers that are fired in a kiln to become part of the glaze. This painting is 30" x 36". The tricky part of this kind of painting ,is that the paint does not cure and will wipe off very easily prior being fired.. So you start at the top and work your way to the bottom. Too much paint and it will pop off in the kiln. Too much heat and it burns off the color. Too little heat and it doesn't become part of the glaze.

This is after the second firing. At this point, I could add color to the wall and add a little more detail. The paint will still come off until fired, but it stays on a little better.

This is the mural after the final firing. I'm know some paint with more firings,but this is the way that works for me.