These last monsters were also outside in the fun sporty area of KOB Daycare so we stuck with a bit of a sporty theme. I had a great time turning a drainage pipe into a basketball hoop for the monsters to show off their basketball skills on and I painted a giant instant tree… much less maintenance than a real one especially when it’s located on a roof.

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There’s a new daycare in town and it’s huge and amazing! the lovely ladies who opened it got in contact with me recently to help decorate their walls with loads of fun murals. It feels like the perfect place for me to be as I don’t think I ever really grew up and my brain is absolutely exploding with ideas to brighten up all their brand new white walls with things to make children laugh.

My monsters have become kind of an extension of me and brought me so much joy to let them out of the paint can and out into the world again to cause havoc and fun wherever they go.

Here are some photos of the first wall I let loose on a couple of weeks ago.

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At first, looking at the wall I was to paint, I was a little worried about the pipe and post getting in the way and not ending up with as good a result as I had wanted, but they actually did the complete opposite! I decided to paint the bottom of the pipe as though it were a tree trunk and then I realised that by  painting the flowers on the posts and behind them as you walk around getting different perspectives it actually makes it look like the branches are moving. Also, unlike most 2D murals you can view it from the side as you walk out of the house. Another perfect moment of artistic serendipity!

To see more images of this mural along with others please click here.

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It was a little bit daunting at first, as I’ve never painted on to a “Colorbond” fence before with all the corrugated edges. Thank goodness I’d painted on a truck before so I knew how to prime powder coated metal. That’s definitely something I love about being an artist, there’s always more to learn and every piece is so unique.

This particular little girl’s name is Amity. She’s adorable! She’s got a bit of an obsession with Paris and her very fluffy cat, Rose. So I decided to create a magical “porthole” through a floral hedge to Paris for her and her little furry friend to escape to and have imaginary picnics under the Eiffel Tower as the sun goes down.

I’m so lucky to have a job where I can play make believe all day and turn boring old fencing in to a colourful dream world, ready to become a part of a child’s dreamy imaginative play time.

To see more of my mural work click here

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The salon is called Natural Elements For Hair and is in the Dog Swamp Shopping Centre. So if you’re in the area you should stop by and have a look and maybe get a do while you’re there.

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A friend of mine commissioned me to paint a huge wall visible from the front door, through the hallway, into her dining/kitchen area. She told me that she’s been wanting me to paint a mural for her before she even bought her house so to do whatever I want. I thought I’d better get a basic concept from her first to be safe. So she told me that she loves art deco, flowers and colourful Mexican stuff. With that, I started brainstorming.

In the end, I decided to do an art deco, geometric pattern in gold all over the wall and then I painted some huge flowers in fun Mexican colours. It’s completely transformed the whole look of the house! I’ve also become obsessed with golden geometric patterns. It’s like the wall is always changing because as you walk around different parts of the golden pattern shine and attract your eyes to another part of the flower painting.

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Rod and Glenda spend a lot of time up north in beautiful places like Karajini camp hosting so were keen to have some Western Australian desert animals painted on the sides of their truck. Their favourites are the spectacular looking Desert Perentie and Olive Python.

I learned a lot about the two animals while painting them and looking up different images of them on the internet. They both have beautiful patterns and colours on them especially the Perentie. I can’t wait to visit the desert again and try to spot some (from a distance…they’re a little scary).

Perentie

Perentie

Perentie

Wild Thing

Snake Eating Rod

Snake

Snake

Snake Head

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Fern Goddess in New Zealand

So, because I’ve been painting like a maniac I haven’t had much time to update my website or anything so I’ve FINALLY edited all the mural photos. Sorry that some are a bit blurry. My camera’s not great …nor my photography skills.

The mural I did for my Dad was New Zealand themed and because he lives in a beautiful place in the hills of Whanganui, the window opposite the mural has a beautiful view of my Dad’s garden and rolling green hills behind it so I really wanted to reflect the natural aspects of New Zealand and give it a really calming feel as it’s in a living room. I ended up painting a lady who I’ve been calling “Fern Goddess” She has her eyes closed to give a calm, non-confrontational feel and she has native New Zealand ferns for hair and native New Zealand birds and butterflies living in among the ferns. She has a bit of a mother nature feel about her. I was really happy with how she turned out, especially being my first full mural and most importantly, my Dad says he loves sitting in that room now because he finds it very calming.

Mandalas & Zentangles at one40william

The second lot of murals that I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to do were 3 walls on the ground floor at One40 William. I was given a lot of freedom to do whatever I liked but was told to try to represent the restaurants and businesses in the complex and to brighten up the corridors and make them a bit more fun. My final idea for the walls was sort of a combination of mandalas and zentangles, using four pastel but still bright vibrant colours. Then to incorporate the businesses I put their logos in circles in black and white so that none of their logo colours would clash and they all became a part of the pattern.

The last lot of walls I did were two 12 metre long walls in the basement corridors of One40, where all the staff are constantly busy running around. I was given a brief to design some character to represent the people who work there and the hustle and bustle that’s always happening in those corridors. At first, I started drawing cartoon people but before I knew it they had turned into weird, furry monster/alien things so I went with it and luckily everyone else seemed to fall in love with them! In fact, everyone loved them so much that they asked me back to create some more! I started off with a few ideas for characters but as I got to know everyone working there they started inspiring me to create monsters based on certain individuals who work there and people started claiming monsters for themselves, saying “I’m this monster because I love riding bikes” or “I’m that monster because it seems cheeky, like me”. It was so much fun! Everyone down there was so welcoming and made me feel so comfortable, even with the freezing cold weather. It was also really satisfying to see a noticeable difference in everyone’s moods once there was a bit of colour and fun in their environment.

Monsters at one40william

Here are some of the photos. Click here to see more photos in the online gallery

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