Bathroom Redo

A couple weeks ago our little boy went to spend the week at Oma & Opa's house with his cousin. While more sensible parents would have used this time to go out partying and having morning sex, we instead decided to redo our bathroom which was in serious need of some attention. (Truth be told we did stay up late, go to a show, sleep in, get massages and go out to an amazing dinner at Woodberry Kitchen too.)

So the walls in here were cracking a lot all over and we had a problem with mold growing on part of the wall. We'd wash it with bleach and it would go away for months and slowly creep back up. With no exhaust ventilation and layers matte paint, plaster and wall paper, the combination was not aging well. You can't see so well in this before shot, but that wall straight ahead is not doing so well.



So we got to scraping and I worked away removing the loose bits and discovering multiple layers of wall paper and other unknown substances below. We sealed off the door with plastic to contain everything so as not to get lead out and about in the house.  That also keeps all airflow out and so major muggy sweaty yuckiness ensued.



We could have stopped here and just gone for the post war torn Bosnian bathroom motif, but onward we went anyway.  Little A decided to paint the cheap looking wood finish cabinets and the brass light fixture white. It would take a few coats to get there. Kilz on the walls, Kilz on the under sink cabinet. After we got everything primed we painted a light blue on the drywall walls surrounding the shower and decided that the war torn walls required a textured finish to hide the mess I made chipping off all the loose stuff. Getting it smooth again would have been pretty near impossible and given our tight schedule and fondness for textures this was clearly the way to go.



We used joint compound with trowels and scrapers to create a random Tuscan Plaster like effect. Your not really supposed to use joint compound over plaster but I figured a couple coats of kilz over the painted plaster and crossing my fingers would be a foolproof course of action. (If it fails we will be calling in the pros next time.)




Little A picked up a new BIG mirror for the vanity as we had one of those cheapo depot ones that is the ugly brown wood and triptych divided mirror doors on it. So his one has no storage but we have another storage unit over the loo and are keeping bits and pieces in there. Painted all the textured areas an almost-white-but-slightly-blue color and got everything done it time (barely) to go pick up our boy and get back to the normal routine. It's hard to take pictures of our little bathroom but here are a couple completed shots. The big mirror does help in that regard!

Emerson's Mural

We decided to paint a mural on Emerson's wall. Hanging on his wall has been a painting my aunt Sarah did of the volcano Conception on the island of Ometepe in Nicaragua which is where we conceived Emerson. So we decided to base the mural around that painting adding in the rest of the island and the second mother volcano Madera. Since that was high up on the wall we figured we add a bunch of fun vegetation to the foreground and the base of the wall. But first we had to paint it blue.



Then I sketched out the basic shapes and Anilia blocked in the color for the plants. You can see Sarah's painting hanging on the wall for inspiration.



Then I started adding in detail on the plants. Also hanging on the wall for inspiration is an original Kent Angert masterpiece. You can see by the age of two he was already exploring his abstract expressionist side.



Next I decided some curly cue growth emerging from the shadows was in order. Little A loves curly cues and I think their pretty fun too. Started laying the foundation for the island and some waves here too.



Now it was time to take Sarah's painting down so I could paint the area behind it. in case the painting ever is not there the mural still makes sense without it. I did not include the Volacan Conception though. Don't ask me why or I'll be forced to make up some metaphysical symbolic reason to justify it as art. Also colored in the lone flower in foreground in a nice bright red which Emerson immediately honed in on.



Some detail shots:





With some of the other preexisting decorations back in place. We had bought this light switch cover quite a while back before we lived here and finally decided it should go here now.



And Sarah's painting back in place. Thanks Sarah for the wonderful painting that inspired this whole thing.

Lotus Mural

So little A had this idea for the bedroom wall.



So to start off we'll need a wall then... Oh, look here's one.



Hmm this wall's not the right color. We'll need a little blue. Let's make it match painters tape shall we?



Then maybe fade into darker blue in the corners and some squiggly vine-y bits of glaze.



Ok, let's doodle on a happy little lotus flower shall we?



Then some color. This is really taking me back to the days of painting custom dance floor covers with ivy and roses. Yes I really used to do that for a living along with fabricating much wackier creations.



Ok one flower pretty much done. Little yellow bits in the center per Little A's request..



A couple more of those and detailing on the curly bits and we're done.



Well, almost done. Maybe some squiggly bits around the doors and windows.



And a lotus stamp on top. Ok I'm outta here...



I think it came out OK. But it's nothing compared to the mural this guy did.

Carousel of the Gods

The novel American Gods by Neil Gaiman is a favorite of mine. There is a part in where all of the old gods get together for a meeting to decide what to do about all the pesky new gods. They have this meeting at the House on the Rock in Wisconsin (not Missouri) which is a most bizarre and fascinating place. A and I had the chance to go there back when we were traveling the country and I shot many photos there. I took two photos of the worlds largest indoor carousel (which is also mentioned in the book) and overlaid them together. I then digitally painted over that composite to create this final piece. Careful, looking at it may cause dizziness and disorientation!