Ceiling Murals

As summer draws to a close , we can look back and say wow! We had quite a diverse and busy summer at that! between the school murals 18 in total, the renovation of a historical landmark home( which I will talk about later) and the cieling murals we have worked on we had a few very exciting jobs this summer. The cieling murals were done in 2 resturants and 1 private residence. All clients wanted very different and distinct looks for thier spaces. We atarted with a new resturant in Valley Stream , owned by Umberto Napoli this family style Iatlian resturant features a very large tray cieling in the ceter dining room. The walls have a beautiful shimmering plaster treatment, created by leslie Salka, of ACI. The cieling was painted with a large tropme style motife in soft gold colrs, decorative foliage, and a blue sky. The border is a Melanie Royals design that frames the mural sky beautifully. Our second cieling is in a residential home , this cieling is in an enormous great room. We painted a simple sky with warm clouds and bordered the sky with flowers and vines that matched the custom draperies. Our last sky is a study in perspective. We painted ballister, and a balcony from a "worms eye view" our ornament around the sky area is full color floral matching the clients bold upholstery. Cieling murals can be a challenge, preliminary sketches are important as well as scaffolding and well planned designs.

Chatterton School Murals

I recently had the pleasure of working with two very kind ladies. Lisa and Penny, chairladies of the Chatterton School PTA in Merrick. We collaborated together to create several murals incorporating the students curriculum and beautifying the all over appearance of Chatterton School. We came up with a colorful faux finish for the entry way collumns, decorative scrolls outlining bulletin boards, and several murals that will surly excite the children when they return in September. Among the themes of the murals were Charlotte's Web, an Aquarium, a Rainforest, and popular Childrens fairytales.

KEEP LONG ISLAND BEACHES CLEAN!

I spend quite a bit of time at the beach, I have loved the oceans all my life, and teach my children to love and respect the oceans. (10 people drowned here on Long Island in July alone.) The ocean beaches on Long Island are beautiful, but nothing like the Carribean. The Atlantic Ocean can be volitile and deadly, I get angry because I see so much disrespect for this wonderful gift , people do not appreciate. I go at least twice a week sometimes more, we own jet skis so I enjoy the water as a craft owner also, the waters are clean and thriving with marine life. What puts a bee in my bonnet is, that I am a swimmer, I never allow my children to just "jump in" with out checking the currents and I always sit up close or go in with them, I can not for the life of me understand how so many mothers do not go in, swim, or even glance up from thier conversations to see if the kids are being pulled out. I also don't get how these same people drive nice cars, live in well to do nieghborhoods, and spend money on recycling . but leave thier trash all over the beach. Every time I go i bring an extra garbage bag and fill it up. Today i picked up 26 empty bottles and cans. I felt like that crying Indian from those 1970's commercials on pollution. If we as a human race do not care about one of greatest natural resources than how can we expect to survive as a whole? I am not opening a political can of worms here, I just don't get it. Every where I look there are signs, movements about "going green" and these same people can't even pick up an a water bottle. My son was annoyed at me because I made him pick stuff up too, but I told him, these beaches our a little slice of heaven and if he wants to take his son out in the water like I swim with him, he better pick his stuff and the slob next to him stuff up too...sorry for the rant............just that I love the beach and I want it clean............

Mural Class at Convention

This years convention was held in South Carolina, and the new name "Idal" was unveiled! I taught a class for the first time at convention and the students were great. We painted an undersea mural on Roclon canvas, using Golden acrylic paints, the students transferred an image and used various techniques to paint the mural. We went over the use of dark underpainting, light source and blending methads as well as free hand drawing for smaller fish and plant life. The students all did a fabulous job and everyone left with a painting suitable for framing!

Long Island Muralist gives school a makeover

Camp Ave. school in Merrick has recently undergone a makeover. I had the opportunity of creating 9 unique murals through out the grammar school. The murals encompass the grade appropriate curriculum of the school, and are large , bright and colorful! We were excited to work on these murals because the characters in the murals were fun , and very identifiable with children and adults of any age. The children were so enthusiastic, asking for autographs and offering constant positive feedback and encouragement! There were 9 murals in all, and I tried to make each mural different -reflecting the grade, subject matter and feel of the painting. Some challenges were painting on brick and cinderblock, as well as having to complete these murals from concept to finish in onlt 1 weeks time! The murals were sketched in concept on paper first, then we painted backgrounds and large ares first. Our biggest challenge was the entrance to the school due to the high ceilings and stairwell. We decided on overgrown animals and characters to fill the space and bring an air of cheerful welcome to the entryway.

We love you grandma

I am writing this in hopes that some of my siblings , cousins and family members take a moment to look at some of the pictures and add to the great memmories I have of Grandma. I will miss her. The more I think of her these last few days the more I realize what a unique person she is. What a unique Christian she was, and how she really did live her life in a state of grace. I don't think I can say I know too many people who have been such admirable role models but as I sit here today one thought comes to mind, patience. I have yet to meet someone in my lifetime who epitimized the word, 40 years never heard her even raise her voice. Grandma came to every school play, dance recital and communion we all had. I even remember her and Grampa, mind you not small people, squeezing themselves into child size desks for Grandparents day back when I was in third grade. My most impacted memmory of grandma is when I was about 13, and all the smaller cousins broke the crib upstairs, Grampa was angry, and we all knew it, but she came up from the party basement and in her soothing voice, "its ok Chris, its Christmas, let them play" Yes I can certainly take a page from her book! Grandma, likes games and she was a Grandmother who never said no to a good game of cards, or a simple page to color. I love Grandma, she and Grampa were unique people, they tried to understand and bond with each and everyone of thier grandchildren, me in 5th grade having some growing pains and not fitting in, I recall telling them that the kids in school called me a fagot because of my sneakers, I laugh now as I remember Grandma getting the dictionary and Grampa looking puzzled as the definition said a bundle of sticks! I missed those Christmases in thier basement before the extended family got too big, I missed playing bartender with my sister, and those funky flowered Christmas lights. Grandma has always reminded me of Mrs. Claus, especially after her hair went white. She has always had a smile, and a kind heart for each of us. I will miss her, but she will be in my mind, like Grampa is whenever I see a pink sky. His made up crayon "sky blue pink" that I could never find! I will think of Grandma when I eat a peanut chew, or when I see someone drink scotch. I will think of Grandma when I see those cheesy polyester pants advertised in the back of the Sunday paper. The pink lipstick that somehow got worn down flat? How that happened will remain Grandma"s mystery , but I will think of her. And of course a really good chocolate chip cookie will make me smile as no-one really ever made them like her. I hope she finds her peace soon , and is laughing , traveling, bowling and drinking with grampa, crocheting, and happy with Auntie, and her parents...I will still miss her

Puglia... a new look, a new resturant...

A new resturant in East Meadow Long Island, Puglia of Little Italy. The warm , cozy atmosphere was achieved by colorwashing the walls in the main diningroom with a soft terra cotta glaze. We then transformed what felt like miles of mouldings from white semi gloss to a warm Faux Mahogany , for a rich and classic look. The restirant is located on Hempstead Turnpike and is a well known establishment in NYC's Little Italy.

New Class

I recently taught this beginner trompe style fruit bowl at the Art League , We hade 5 students in the class. We used Faux Effects paints and transferred our images onto cambric cloth. The concepts of light and shadow were covered in the class. I think the students did a great job, and we had alot of fun! The next class i will be teaching at the Art league will be Venetian 101 , this class will cover proper techniques for application, surface preparation, differences between synthetics and lime. Students will complete 3 sample boards.

Up coming Art Classes

I will be teaching several classes at the Art League in Huntington. The classes are a Trompe L'oeil niche painted on canvas, the niche will hava a bowl of fruit in the center. This class is in March. The other 2 classes are "Venetian Plaster 101", this class is in April. The class will focus on proper troweling techniques, different plasters, and decorative applications. Students will see demonstrations of the plasters as well as hands approach. The last class is a "Basic Faux All You Need To Know" this class wil cover different applications of glaze techniques used in Faux Painting. Students will create several boards , This class is in May. For more info visit the Art League or click the title of this post

Painting on Pellon

Cieling murals are particularly difficult to paint areas. When appraoching a mural on a cieling I like to take several factors into consideration. Are there multiple techniques needed for the background, are there figures, and what the height is. Height factor is important because scaffolding slows you down, being careful is a prerequisite, and cautious painting while up there is mandatory! I recently did a cieling mural with quite a few figures the faces were done on pellon which made the mural install very painless. Literally. Looking up for long periods of time can be quite stressfull on the neck muscles . Using pellon is a welcome alternative. Pellon can be found at craft and sewing supply stores, I used the mid weight. The fabric takes paint beautifully and the mural melds together seamlessly.