When I last left off here, I was disappointed with the Starfish panels I had done, and was feeling the cabinet door panels just were not quite doing it for me. A few things were going on. First, I was just having a hard time wrapping my head around painting SO much color on this custom made cabinetry and making it work with the already very busy and bold wall and ceiling finishes, as well as fabrics on the furniture. Remember, I did not do the wall and ceiling finishes and the decorative painter who did do them did a great job. As with these door panels, I’m sure these color combinations and saturation of colors is not her norm. I did present my client with the idea of doing all the shells and fish in sepia tones, but that did not fly. This is a person who truly loves and lives color! So, that said, today I finally did wrap my little head around the idea that what I deem as too much color, is just what this client craves.
Here is where I was yesterday when I left for the day. I had finished blocking out the seahorses and large shells. No detail had been added to these or the starfish. I felt the starfish panels were not going to work. Because the seahorses are so large and the fish panels that are next to the seahorses are very busy, these little starfish were just distracting. The two panels you see at the bottom right of the photo are speaker panels and will not be painted. There are two more of these on the opposite side.
I was able to wash off the starfish with some Simple Green and a scrubbie, so luckily did not have to repaint. I replaced the starfish with this coral. This brought in the colors from the fish panels and their large size balances with the 4 seahorse, 2 on either side of the 3 fish panels. I am still working on the coral and shells below. As I look at the photo now, I see I like the shape of the far right coral panel the best. I think I will add to each of the 3 other coral panels tomorrow to give them a better shape.
This is a little closer look. Remember, not finished. You can see I have my reference materials taped up to help me. I am freehand painting these panels. Oh, in case you are wondering, my clients (husband and wife) have been very receptive to the work thus far. When I expressed my dislike of the starfish panels this morning and told them I wanted to put the coral there instead, they were very agreeable.
Look at this giant fish that is mounted on the wall at the foot of the stairs. You see this just before you turn left to enter the Play Room where I am working. It is a fiberglass replica of the same fish my client (the husband) caught. The 2 ends are very sharp, so they have these warning rags tied to it so their little grandchildren will not be impaled! I’m a little afraid of this fish myself and step gingerly around it!
I should finish up this job tomorrow, so will post the final pics before I take off for the long weekend.
Looking good Carol! The coral fills up the space nicely, but is not too busy.
I like 🙂