I forgot about this mural I did about 10 years ago. This is actually my first mural. The other mural that I posted that I said was my first was the first one I had done with regular paint. This is a tile mural. It is painted with china paints (like you see on decorative porcelain plates, tea cups, etc.) then fired. Each tile has been fired 4 to 5 times. The paints (which have an oily consistancy) are painted onto glazed tiles so it is a slick paint on a slick surface. People that are good at china painting can build up the color easily but as I tried to darken the colors, the previous paint would lift off unless it was made permanent by firing. This was a major undertaking which took 4 months of working on it every day. Since I find painting more fun than drawing, I would draw a few rows of the design and then paint the tiles. Then I drew a few more rows and painted some more. That kept me from getting bored.I painted this when I was really into delicate flowers and softer colors. Below are a couple of close-ups.
Tile Mural
Image Size: Wall: 6' x 4', Floor: 3' x 4'China paints on tile
Nancy, this is absolutely stunning! Is this in your bathroom? Do you have your own kiln for firing the tiles? Did you lay out the whole wall of tiles first to keep the cohesion of that gorgeous design (and so the drawing/painting lined up perfectly)? I know I am full of questions, but I sure would consider myself lucky if your house ever went on the market and I had the money to buy!
ReplyDeleteThis is an outdoor shower. We thought we would use it for rinsing off after getting out of the pool and for washing the dog. My husband gave the dog a bath once and his back hurt for a week so that was the end of that. It's one of those projects that just kept growing in scope. It was a lot of fun though.
ReplyDeleteThe drawing was done to scale as it would be installed, then transferred to the tiles and painted. I have a very small (8" octagon by 8" tall) kiln that I originally bought about 20 years ago to fire paints onto glass when I was doing stained glass. It has come in handy for lots of different projects over the years. I would say it is probably the best purchase I've ever made.
I'm so impressed with your imaginative, lifelike murals, Nancy. I've done 1 mural, and my back and shoulders hurt so much afterwards, I said, never again! Bravo to you.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't wait to get back to see your response, Nancy. I think your home is a true showplace. I like the idea of an outside shower for bathing the dogs. 'Course, here it would only be useful for about 4, maybe 5 mos. of the year...but less back breaking than lifting our beasts into the tub and leaning over it and them!
ReplyDeleteThanks Deborah. This one was easy on the back because I got to work on it on a table, then it was installed. I agree, doing a regular mural is hard on the back and shoulders.
ReplyDeleteSherry, that's what we thought too but leaning over to bathe him in the shower is hard on the back too. And...our dog is a bit of a prima donna and prefers to go to the groomer. He thinks its a spa day. He gets a massage (during the bath), a mani/pedi and everybody tells him how beautiful he is. He he. Luckily, he isn't a smelly dog, even when he's really dirty, so we don't have to take him that often. If he had to wait for us to bathe him, it would be even less often.
Very innovative Nancy, that is the most luxurious out door shower I have even seen! It is a pleasure to look at it everyday.. beautiful work:-)
ReplyDeleteOh wow, this is just gorgeous. And so much work you painstakingly put into it. I love tile work, even played for a bit with mosaics (kept nipping my fingers!). This is a very impressive piece. Much applause!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea. I love that you gave your outdoor shower some pizazz. It's just beautiful. Thanks for sharing in the process. I didn't know they had such small kilns. Sounds like something I may have to look into. I've never worked with China paints. So many ideas in this blog, thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you Padmaja, Carrie and Nancie.
ReplyDeleteNancy - this is beautiful and it's nice to know it has stood the test of time. China painting is a true art in and of itself.
ReplyDeleteThanks Pattie. China painting is an interesting art form. I'm thinking of trying some more soon.
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