Y’all! I am SO EXCITED that I can finally tell you about my part in this year’s Southern Living Idea House!! (Ok, that “y’all” was a nod to Nashville, but hey!) So now that its officially open for tours, I can take you behind the scenes of how this mural came to be.
I am just going to start with my word of the year. Instead of saving it for the end because why not? I want to start off with a bang! I chose “CONQUER” as my word for 2023. It’s pretty powerful and I wasn’t sure if I was worthy of such a word. However, the more I thought about it the more I liked it and felt that it encompasses everything I want to do in 2023.
Flexing my Viking strength in Bergen Norway
On New Year’s Eve, Evan and I went to a good friends home to celebrate with a small group. She always puts on a great party and this was no exception. We ate tons of food and played games. But the part that I really enjoyed was a kit for personalized bracelets she had found. The kit came with metal discs and a set of letters that you can hammer your word into the metal. My turn was coming up and I had no idea what to pick. I had to choose it quickly and suddenly “conquer” came into my mind. I just went with it and grew to really love it. I keep it on my wrist as a reminder.
When I first thought of the word I immediately thought of the Romans, William the Conquerer, the Moors, the Conquistadors, and others. Then I dialed it back and thought, “ok, thats a bit much.” I imagined myself continually stepping out beyond my immediate business area and expanding (my word for 2022) my business into other markets such as NYC and LA. I’ve thought a lot about whether or not I should spell out my actual desires and put them into print for the world to see for fear of failure, but if I don’t then I won’t really commit.
(Above- a couple of projects from last year. Left- Main Line Philadelphia; Center - Upper East Side of Manhattan; Right- Los Angeles with LeGrande Studios)
Conquer also means to conquer my fear of failure, my feeling of not being good enough. When I see other artists on instagram I often compare my work to theirs and wonder why I don’t get jobs like theirs. But I need to constantly remind myself that the universe will give me exactly what I can handle, and frankly, I’ve handled a lot.
Finally I am in the process of conquering my recovery from shoulder surgery! I am feeling great and making steady progress each day. I hope to be back on the wall soon.
If you missed my 2022 recap feel free to take a look.
Do you have a word for 2023? I would love to hear it and what it means to you.
Contact me about commissioning a custom piece of artwork, a custom mural, or any other project you’re dreaming up! I’d love to talk about what you have in mind, answer any questions you may have, and if the feeling is right, schedule a consultation.
Feel free to email me or use the form below. Talk soon!
Boy how time flies! This time last year I was preparing for my cross country drive to Los Angeles to spend a month with Evan and this year I am getting ready for shoulder surgery. (More on that later.)
Last year, I decided on “Expand” as my word for 2022 and I certainly think I fulfilled the definition. Stay tuned in January for my word for 2023. I always like to take a look back on my year and see how it panned out in comparison to what I goals I had set at the beginning. Do you do the same? I’d love to hear about them.
Without further ado, here’s my 2022 recap!
In December of 2021, my dad and I drove across the country to Los Angeles. I’ve done road trips before and have seen a lot of the country but have never travelled from coast to coast. My dad prepared my van so that I could camp in it and also bring along my cats, Ruthie and Timmy. We drove south from Baltimore to Fairhope, Alabama to research some family history before turning west on I-10. It was an eye opening experience to say the least. We saw the Appalachians in the Virginias and Tennessee transform into estuaries that led to the gulf before giving way to the desert fields of west Texas into New Mexico and Arizona. Across lake Pontchartrain, we saw blue tarps still covering roofs that were damaged by hurricane Katrina. We drove through the oil fields of east Texas, had barbeque in Austin with an old high school friend, visited a fellow artist in Marfa, camped on BLM land in Arizona and let the kitties explore the desert. People were friendly and welcoming along the way. After eight days on the road we pulled into Evan’s on Christmas Eve, my birthday.
After spending the holidays with my dad and Evan, my dad met my cousin and explored the Mojave Trail while Evan and I worked and painted together. We took in the Rose Parade, the Rose Bowl Flea Market, The Getty Museum, and the Huntington. I created a new painting, “The Boat Painter,” inspired by my trip to Morocco in 2017. Friends from the Netherlands visited toward the end of the month and before we knew it it was time to head back east. I met up with my dad in Arizona and high tailed it home to avoid being snowed in by a storm that was nipping at our heels.
Back home, I got right to work on several projects that were waiting for me and started a new project called “Finish Challenge” where each month I go live on both Facebook and Instagram and demonstrate a finish based on items of inspiration such as fabrics, wallcoverings, images, textures found around us. I’ve also created a group on Facebook as well as a Youtube channel where you can view past Live videos. My facebook group “ Finish Challengers” offers people a place to learn how to create decorative finishes, not based on products, but on achieving a certain look or effect. My goal is to create a community that is supportive and inspirational and a way to build your portfolio from home whenever you choose. I also hope to inspire interior designers and show them how to incorporate more decorative painting in their work. I hope to see you there!
In addition to my Finish Challenge, I created an online verison of my Painted Glass class. I also have my Abstract Painting class available. These online workshops are a great way to get creative in the comfort of your own home. If, however, you prefer to make a mess elsewhere, I will be planning some workshops in 2023. I finally hosted my postponed glass class from covid this past September. If you are curious about future workshops, be sure to sign up for updates with my newlsetter.
In May, Evan and I travelled to Norway and Sweden. This year’s Salon was held in Bergen Norway. To read more, click on my post about our trip. Salon 2023 will be hosted by Lynne Rutter in San Francisco. I’ve already begun to paint my panel so that I can get a head start before surgery. I’m taking a departure from my usual panels and can’t wait to reveal it in the spring!
2022 saw a handful of really fun projects. I began working with Ash NYC on their latest hotel project here in Baltimore. Hotel Ulysses was inspired by the book of the same name by James Joyce as well as local Baltimore Icon John Waters. The lobby, Ash Bar, and Bloom’s are a maximalist’s dream. We created the finishes in the Lobby and elevators. And to our joy, it was featured in the November issue of Architectural Digest!
Ash brought me up to Manhattan to complete a genuine silver leaf ceiling for a client of theirs in the Upper East side. The apartment was featured in Cabana Magazine with an interview with lead designer Will Cooper.
I also had the opportunity to create some fun murals for some great design teams. As you know, murals are my passion. I really enjoyed having more mural work.
And of course, I made several trips to see Evan and help with his projects. We also made time for some fun to visit his family in Utah, Zion National Park, the Getty Villa, the Norton Simon, and other adventures. Evan came to Baltimore and he had steamed crabs for the first time. We got to ejoy Oellapalooza, a local music event put on by my friend who owns a great farm in the heart of Oella. also went to the Renaissance Festival, my first experience since 1998!
This was also my second year as a level 1 coach for the Mount Hebron High School Cycling Club, aka “the Biking Vikings.” Head Coach Dennis Champney asked me to help coach. We rode together on our college team at Towson University. Even though my schedule limited my time with them, we still had a great season. The students did crossfit in the offseason and they had a great time riding and racing. I am looking forward to next year.
So without further ado, I will be having my shoulder repaired on December 20th. This surgery is long overdue. I’ve been dealing with pain for well over 10 years and I finally was diagnosed with a torn labrum which has made work increasingly more difficult. Evan will be coming out to take care of me and spend the holidays and my birthday together. I’m a lucky girl! I’m looking forward to a pain free 2023 (hey, that rhymes!) I will be taking a more managerial role and plan to have some of my fellow decorative painters assist me with upcoming projects until I am cleared to return to work.
But before then, I have one last trip to LA to attend Evan’s art show opening at the AI+ Gallery in Pasadena. If you’re in the area, be sure to check it out!
There are so many beautiful wallcoverings out there, from digitally printed images to gilded and beaded or even feathered papers. I often get requests to create a finish that is inspired by a wallpaper but the particular design is not quite right; the color is the wrong shade, the pattern repeat isn’t flattering to the space, or the scale is off. I have a couple examples where I have created customized “wallpaper” where I’ve solved these problems for my clients. Click here, here, and here to see some examples and scroll on to read more!
Customized finish for Laura Hodges Studio in Baltimore, MD
Lets say you have found what looks to be the perfect wallpaper to create a feature wall for your client’s project. The wall in question is 22 feet tall and the paper only comes in 12 foot lengths…what to do? You call the manufacturer and they say that they can produce a custom length for you but its way out of your client’s budget. This is exactly what happened with my project for Christie Leu Interiors in north Ocean City, Maryland.
I was able to create a textural finish for the space that tied together the colors perfectly and using the paper as inspiration, adjusting the design to the scale of the wall. The result is a beautiful watery landscape perfect for a beach retreat.
It was even featured in Home and Design Magazine, and is a featured finish in Golden Paintwork’s Limited Edition Series.
Customized finish for Christie Leu Interiors in Ocean City, Maryland
Designer Alexa Ralff of AHR Design in New Jersey had a client that had a tiny powder room off the foyer in their home in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Washington, DC and fell in love with a funky chinoiserie style wallpaper. Due to all of the angles and niches in the space, the design of the wallpaper would be cut off in areas and would be too tall.
I was asked to use the wallpaper as inspiration, and to add unique touches that the clients requested including a “Smurf” hidden among the grass- a nod to the family’s previous home in Brussels, Belgium.
I measured out each wall surface and created templates to sketch in the composition, making sure the design fit and flowed naturally. You can see a reel of the process on my instagram. This is one of my favorite projects as I tailored the design exactly to the space and was given a lot of creative freedom.
When thinking about commissioning a wallpaper mural, there are some practical benefits to using canvas. Canvas is much more durable than wallpaper and it will withstand the conditions of high traffic areas and humid conditions such as bathrooms. I finish my canvasses with a varnish that enables it to be lightly cleaned, and if you decide to take down the canvas it can be saved and reapplied in a new setting.
Customized canvas wallpaper in a master bath in Catonsville, Maryland for Laura Hodges Studio
Inspiration
If you are an artist and would like to learn how to create your own murals on canvas, purchase our ebook. I’ve included resources and tips on how to make the process go smoothly.
Nursery Ceiling Mural created for Hall & Co. Pikesville, Maryland
We love creating wallpaper murals and can ship them all over the country! Contact us with your ideas and lets get started!
Salon this year was a special one for me. It was me and Evan’s first international trip and to a place where I’ve always wanted to visit. It was hosted in Bergen, Norway by Salon member Inge Visnes. I’ve never traveled to Norway, let alone Scandinavia, and this would be my opportunity to immerse myself in the culture and customs of this beautiful place. After Salon, we were able to spend a few days in Stockholm, Sweden. My paternal grandfather’s parents are both Swedish and my great grandmother emigrated in the early 1900’s so this was a very special trip for me. To learn more about salon and my previous experiences, click here or here.
