Baby Girl’s Castle

Can I just tell you how much fun it is to paint for little girls? Don’t get me wrong, I love my boys, and I love painting for boys. But there’s just something magical about little girls. Maybe it’s because I was one, huh?

This mural-on-canvas is for a blogger buddy’s little girl. We started with a sample castle I painted.


This was done on watercolor paper. I wasn’t crazy about the blue on the rooftops. Neither was the client. No blue in their house. Hmmm, I had to think about that since most ‘Disney’ castles have blue rooftops.

Next, I traced the castle outline onto tracing paper.


I could of gone to the store to get a roll of tracing paper, but just taped sheets together instead.
Then I transferred outline onto basecoated artist canvas.


This shows the rooftops already transferred. One of the things that bugged me about the sample painting is the rooftops. The curves were not symmetrical.

Yep, I’m one of those artists. I like things balanced. I actually used to drive myself nuts, working for hours to get things ‘right.’ Finally gave that up. Art tends to look better if everything is not ‘perfect.’

Anyway, I did make templates for the rooftops – just one side.


Then flipped it over and traced other side – to get symmetrical, you know?



Yes, it’s easier than drawing freehand, but the curves are still a bit off, but I can live with them.
Then basecoated castle walls – kind of a beige taupe with some pink.



I also painted rooftops white, at this point. Extra step, but it gave me a clean palette.



Windows and wall shading & details.



Started rooftops, then thought I better do background. But I didn’t like the ‘hills’. Hmm, what to do, what to do.



There. Much better. Blues, pinks, purples in sky. Greens, pinks in trees.

Printed lettering off computer and transferred it onto canvas. Then basecoated it in white.



Added butterfly because she has butterflies in her room



And that’s it! Added flags to rooftops, banner with ‘G’ to front of castle.

All I have left is to hem top & bottom – it’ll hang from a rod. But I’m thinking another butterfly – just below and a little to the right of the other one – to balance the ‘B’. What d’ya think?



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Colleen