Monday, January 12, 2009

The writing (well, drawing, really) on the wall

A scene from the hallway up our stairs.

Don't tell my mom, but I've always been a girl who liked to draw on walls. (Actually, you can tell her. I think she knows.)

When I was little, I had giant decals on my bedroom walls of Disney characters. I thought they were the absolute coolest. They were like big murals on my walls, and since then, and maybe because of this, I've remained attracted to murals and to really big paintings.

It's one of the first things that attracted me to Kelli Bickman's art work. She paints big. (She paints small, too, sometimes.) Something about that kind of bigness speaks to me. I love to feel surrounded by art, like I'm a part of the scene. (To read Blisschick's awesome interview with Kelli Bickman, click here.)

So, it stands to reason that I would find it impossible to not draw on the walls of our own house.

I started here, above this particular doorway, with this small painting of Ernie, our orange tabby cat. After he left his fur suit in April of 2007, I felt as though he needed to be memorialized somehow, somewhere. One day, I got out the ladder and some paint, and before Zoe could say, "Why are you painting a cat instead of a rabbit?" it was already done (sorry, Zoe).

I painted Ernie amongst some stars and birds. There wasn't much Ernie liked more than watching his birds, and that was what I wanted to be reminded of each and every day.

Over the next few days, these birds started to fly not only around the rest of the room (as you can see below), but they also began to fly up and down the hallways and down the stairs (hence the picture at the very tippy top of this post). Those birds were out of control. But, in a rather nice way. Not in an Alfred Hitchcock way.


Since then, Zoe has gotten her wish. I've painted a familiar looking, and very pretty little rabbit in her room. I also added our Jobie to the wall opposite Ernie after he, too, left his fur suit. (We call these their "ancestor tablets"). I'll post about these sometime in the near future.

For now, I need to head downstairs to punch down my rising bread dough. I wonder if any pink birds will follow me all the way to the kitchen?

7 comments:

carlikup said...

Oooooooooh Marcy, this is way to cool!!! Every little girl's dream! I am "so" showing this to my little Sarah when she gets home from school today ~ thanks for sharing!

Carla :0)

Jennifer Hayes Hugon said...

Marcy this made me cry! The tribute to your kitties is so wonderful... I know one day I will have to do something to memorialize our furry guys. This is a sweet inspiration.

What a wonderful home with all that around you!

Anonymous said...

Your walls are so beautiful! I love the paintings and I love the wall colors, too!

Lisa said...

Wow I can't believe you guys get to live in such a cool space with cats and birds and color on your walls. It's gorgeous. And as someone else said, such a lovely tribute too.

Connie said...

When I was a kiddo my parents were divorced. For a few years we would take turns at whose house we would be at. One year, I think I was around seven or eight, I decided to paint a self portrait of myself on the family room wall for my Mom--so she could think of me every time I go by my Dad's. I remember this whole scenario vividly as if it happened yesterday. I remember thinking I was giving my Mom a huge gift--something to really cherish and show the friends. This must have been my blue period, because I remember painting my life size self portrait in only blue, black, and white.

My mother, to say the least, was not impressed; was not happy, and scrubbed for days She showed her friends--but out of total anger and disbelief.

But, even though my work was censored, then years later the ghost covered in wood paneling---I was (still am)very proud of that painting.

I love your house Marcy---I adore the tribute to her little guy. I look forward to having my own home one day too, so I can paint on the walls again!!!

Hey---you have to check out my friend Christa that lives in Chicago---she's an awesome Artist!! She has a liking for painting on walls too!!

http://christadonner.com/

Peace & Love.

Connie said...

I meant to say "your little guy"...I bet you got that..but, just wanted to clear things up!

Connie said...

One other thing...I just went back to your post and clicked on the photos to get a better look----I looooove colored ceilings!!! Fabulous!! In my old duplex in Cleveland, I had colored ceilings too!!!! They make a room so much more warm and cozy---Oh, I just love your home!! And, that painting of Ernie could not be any more precious!!!

Peace & Love.