A Custom Order Kick-Starts Juices Flowing During SHELTER-IN-PLACE

We will probably look back at this time, this "shelter-in-place" time as the lost days. I know they have been for me. Rather than having nothing to do, I found that I had so many possibilities that I was literally frozen in place with Indecision. I have unlimited hours to watch Netflix or Amazon Prime, enough books of my own, unread I might add, to start a library, lots of unseen DVD's, can cook and yes I could paint, birdhouses my forté, and own a daunting stack of blank canvases. Then, there's the yard. What did I do? I wrote a few letters, did a little baking and watched ALL six seasons of HOUSE OF CARDS, a grim gritty Washington D.C. drama that saw an amazing actor's downfall and a story line that could be out of Washington today. I have no doubt this is a far more accurate view than what we saw on the, in retrospect, fuzzy WEST WING.

Inspiration is only a few clicks away.

     At the beginning of our third week of shelter-in-place here in California, I noticed a message on my ETSY account asking if I would be interested in painting a birdhouse that had edelweiss flowers against an Alpine setting. I had been looking at the studio and carefully closing the door for weeks now and going in thought, well, why not? I asked if they wanted it round or square and they wanted four corners for their cabin in Colorado. They were really going to use it.

      We "all" know the song "Edelweiss" from THE SOUND OF MUSIC but I had no idea what they looked like so off to images in Google to find the flowers and some Alpine scenes.

     What I envisioned was a kind of two dimensional painting on a 3D subject, carrying the view around all sides, and the roof. However, I had never actually tried to do that and this was my chance. If they didn't like it there was always the store to sell it on.

Starting with pencil marks to show areas

I started from the bottom up
defining the lower levels first

     My idea was to layer the hills and mountains and use larger flowers in front with smaller ones in back to give the birdhouse depth. Snow was shown on the mountain peaks and a kind of ice river running down one of the sides. Since it already had a cord to hang it I didn't have to worry about adding feet.  For some reason I decided that I wanted to frame the meadow at the base first thinking that each layer moving up would be less intense and finally reach the mountain tops and be crowned by the sky. In fact, the sky was one of the first finished areas I did. The clouds and colors set the tone for the rest of the birdhouse.

You can see the layers of hills as
I moved up the mountain. The flowers
would come next.

Next the flowers were saddened
increasing the feeling of depth.

     On both the foreground and the mid-mountains I used a feathered brush that gave me many thin lines for grass and was used for the rocky stones in the mountains. It worked well. To capture the ruggedness of the snow I used a palette knife and was so pleased with the effect I also used it to suggest the craggy mountains going dark on dark. Finally, with the addition of the flowers you could see the white flowers set off against the darker Alpine setting. As they were filled in and the florets of yellow added and dots of golden yellow and magenta across the field near the base I achieved the look I wanted.

The solid green base helped but
something was missing.

Painting  the base like the birdhouse base
completed the look tying it together

 The last problem was the base itself. What to do? I finally painted it a solid deep green but was not happy. I got out the cut feathered brush and repeated the strokes used on the lower birdhouse. The effect was perfect for capturing the base of the birdhouse.  

      Now, what to do with the bottom? Since they were planning on hanging it I decided to paint the very bottom with a large edelweiss so that no matter how it was viewed all the sides were painted, something you rarely ever see in a painting. I think I achieved what I set out to achieve and the reaction from the soon-to-be owner was very positive.

No space is neglected. A large edelweiss
graces the bottom of ALPINE EDELWEISS BIRDHOUSE

   I used a variety of paints mostly DecoArt or Plaid. I like Plaid for its dense opaque colors, however, it tends the thicken faster than most other craft acrylic paints.

     I guess I proved to myself that you can have it both ways, a 3D scene that when viewed on an object looks like a painting glued to a 6 sided form. Never say never until you give it a try!

    I am so pleased with this I am trying a variation in the round. No matter how many you try, even with the same design they each have a wonderfully unique, distinct personality.

Thank you for reading my blog. I invite you to take the time to read earlier blogs where my emphasis is to explore the ways art and design affects our daily lives ... and always has. I share with you what inspires me with the hope that it will inspire you as well. Comments are always welcomed! 

Be sure to check my ETSY store ... KrugsStudio.etsy.com. I am adding many new and exciting, collectible birdhouses and craft items. Many of the items talked about here will be for sale there!