I was recently contacted to paint a few tiles that would be used as wall hangings in a home office. The client emailed me the following photos and asked if I could duplicate them on 6x8 tiles for her husband's upcoming birthday. Needless to say he's a huge guitar fan! Here is the first one she'd sent to me:
Notice the signature that was sent along as a separate attachment. "If I could also include that" she said, "it would be appreciated, but not totally necessary if it's too hard".
Well I'll do what I can, I thought, but thankfully I'll have an out just in case it didn't quite come out the way I had hoped.
My next step was to find out what background color would work best for this tile, so it would coordinate well in the office it was designed to hang in. A light, light blue with a slight silvery touch is what I was advised would work well. I couldn't have called it better myself!!!
Now, there comes a time in just about every project I'm working on that I feel I've done something wrong and will have to start completely over, from scratch. I was at (or nearing) that point on this particular tile and was still quite apprehensive knowing that the strings and signature still lay ahead of me.
It may look decent to you now, but you'll just have to take my word for it here. I painted and fixed, painted and fixed and painted some more before I came up with a look I was happy with. Thank goodness paint has such a forgiving quality... and I am so stubborn :)
A few more details and some various shadings and we're just about finished with this one.
Yay! I'm really happy with how this turned out and I can't wait to hear how the client likes it when she can see and hold it in her own hands. The may look nice in the pictures, but they're still soooo much nicer in person! True story!
And here is a seldom seen backing of one of my tiles complete with the hooks for hanging. I always paint the back of each tile with a coordinating color and then each piece is signed and dated with the year.
When a tile isn't going to be used as art for a wall, I will attach felt feet to each corner or plastic discs to prevent slippage when used for coasters. Please note that this tile also has plastic discs on the two bottom corners to protect the wall from scratches. Attention to detail is what I'm all about!
But I must say it looks pretty darn good sitting on a shelf too. Just sayin' :)
Here is the second of the
emailed pictures this particular client commissioned me to paint onto a 6x8 tile:
I like to call this one: Guitar's On Parade! And a one, and a two...
One thing is for certain, an all black and shiny background isn't the easiest thing to photograph. Say "cheese!"
It was at this point that they reminded me of upside down guitar lollipops. Sweet!
Say "cheese", it's me again! I just love my little Cannon digital camera. Don't know where I'd be without it!
Here is the finished tile, complete with all the details and right down to the tiny, tiny strings.
This tile also has the added hooks for hanging (and two rubber feet) on the back. However, this one looks pretty great sitting on a shelf too (in my honest opinion)! The good news is, is that whatever way her guitar hero husband decides to display his one of a kind birthday presents, he'll know for certain that he has custom art pieces that were painted especially with him in mind. Priceless!
I'd love the opportunity to design and paint something especially for you or someone you love. Please drop me an
email and we can discuss your ideas for a one of a kind custom art tile that is sure to make people stop and take notice!
Take care,
Labels: brushes at work, custom painted ceramic tiles, guitar tiles
