Design with Murals for the Moments We Need

The Frescoes of Villa Arianna

Hallways are great spaces to consider for murals that need a punch.  Hallways are sometimes overlooked because they are narrow and do not lend themselves to the better viewing that a wall in a room offers.  But a mural can actually give character, warmth and coziness to a small space.  Perhaps a part of that depends on the subject matter.  Since I love everything Italian, the upstairs hallway was just waiting to be part of the whole mural experience weaving it's way throughout the house.  I had just found some columns at an antique mall, some were half columns, some were whole.  I didn't really want the half columns, but had to buy all as a package.  It turns out that the perfect spot to put three of the half columns was in that hallway and then paint Diana, the huntress (shown below) and Flora, the Spring gathering flowers (seen above).  These were frescoes that were discovered in the Villa Arianna at the site of Stabiae, one of the cities, like Pompeii,  destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.  I found out it is much easier to project the image on the wall to get the right dimensions and the outline before you begin painting the actual mural and all the details. Painting the details is up to the individual artists' abilities.  I figure I am like most other artists, that I begin a project and if it has no deadline, it is a work in progress...but for a YEAR!!!  Actually, Flora is pretty much finished, just some shading, highlighting and a few more delicate flowers.  Diana is 75% complete...her bow & arrow, her facial features and the background color need completion. I guess since they are considered ruins, the condition I have left them in (temporarily) is appropriate.  (smile)   





Mirror, Mirror On the Wall...

Here's an idea for a room with too many mirrors, I guess when you reach a certain age, you don't need a wall of mirrors to keep reminding you of who you are "not"  anymore, plus mirrors are not as necessary as painted walls and ecclectic, colorful surroundings ...this is what I did to a master bathroom that had 4 mirrors with cabinets below...kept two and demolished the other two with plans for a mural in each recess in the wall...I had two cards with Italian landscapes on them, very similiar to the hillsides outside our window, soooooooo, there was the inspiration for the two murals...the results are seen above and below....find that particular wall in your space that calls for a change and consider a mural of any type or size...

Paint what you LOVE and remember...

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,

But by the number of moments that take our breath away."

(my favorite quote and why I LIVE with everything I LOVE!)