My Favorite 2011 Paintings & Murals

While I love sharing painting tutorials here, I really enjoy painting murals *shock* – even if they’re not on walls!

Since I don’t paint much for my own home, I often forget what I’ve painted in the past year. This is a great way to remind myself that I actually accomplished something in 2011. Not that I have self-doubt issues, or anything like that.

I painted this cutie-patootie Yorkie on a whim.

Now that I think about it, all of my paintings are kinda on a whim.

This wildlife mural was the first I’ve ever painted in a round room. No corners! It was fun to share the daily progress here so you could see the start-to-finish of a large mural.

My foray (obsession?) into turquoise yielded this poppy painted on a canvas insert for our serving trays. I still love looking at it, which is kinda rare for my paintings, and turned it into a DecorAid decal.

I’ve always used craft acrylics for painting – unless you count my one and only art class in 1976 that caused me to quit painting for 20 years. I love the look of watercolors though and played around with this watercolor-ish hydrangea. (But I still used craft acrylics.)

In my nearly 17 years painting murals, I’ve painted a ton of trees but never a flowering tree until this cherry blossom in the Enchanted Garden Mural.

But here’s the problem with painting murals on walls, a few months after I painted this, they decided to pick up and move to Los Angeles. Gah! I doubt the new homeowner has a little girl who loves fairies and a little boy whose dreamt of a Safari Jungle!

Until they buy a new home in Los Angeles, my clients just had me paint murals on canvas. This one’s 40” long so it’ll cover a good portion of a wall in their rental.

After I delivered it I added tiny pink Swarovsky crystals to the tiara but didn’t take a picture. I know, I know. But I was waiting for them to hang it and then they moved!

When they told their 4 year old that they were moving he wasn’t too happy to leave his safari jungle room. Until they told him I’d paint something for his new room.

He said, “If Colleen is gonna paint my new room, then okay.”

That’s the best testimonial I’ve ever gotten!

Now that he’s 4, he wanted dragons, dragons that looked real but weren’t too scary. (?!?)

And if his baby sister had a tiara then he had to have a crown, with l’il blue Swarovski crystals.

I had lost connection with my ‘patron saints’ but she googled me (ain’t technology wonderful?), found my ever-changing cell phone number and I painted their master bedroom. The only room I hadn’t painted in their house I think.

One of the highlights of 2011 was finding an awesome thrift store right around the corner where I scored this lamp for $2. Of course after spending hours doodling paisleys on it, there’s no way I could ever sell it for a profit. But it was great therapy when I needed it.

That’s it – the end of my 2011 posts. Finally.

Are you ready for the new year? Aren’t we always? I find it kinda funny that we always think there’ll be huge changes in the coming year – unless you’re into numerology, of course.

However you’re celebrating – if you’re celebrating at all – I hope you have a safe, fun New Year. I’ll be joining my hubs with some close friends for a quiet dinner and rent a movie. Yay – that way I can be up bright ‘n early to watch the Rose Parade!

See ya next year!