{Once Upon a Time Quilt}

I call this one my Once Upon a Time quilt because if I had my babies.....and when I have my babies in my home, I'm going to snuggle them up in this while I read them fairy tales. I loved this fabric so much as well. The little characters are just too adorable. The little girl looks like Little Red Riding Hood and then there's a fox/wolf guy and owls and birds. I'm in love....

So I wanted fabrics to go with it that were a little vintage looking and so I chose a couple small print florals because it seemed to fit.

(my only real regret it how bright the blue looks on this side compared to the yellow in particular. But I still love it anyway.....

 Doesn't it look so snuggly???

This time I tried the wavey quilting both across and down the blanket. It's hard to see it in any of the pics. 

 Seeee???? Totes adorbes.

{Baby Girl Quilt: Green, Pink and Grey}

I mentioned that I made a baby quilt while I was miscarrying.  Maybe a funny thing for me to have done but I'm so glad I did. It was really therapeutic for some reason.  Creating something and staying busy was really good for me. 

So I went to the store and just walked around looking for inspiration. I ran into this adorable flannel that I just could not resist. It says things like "April showers" and "Cycling in the park". It's kitty cats riding bikes. How cute is that????

So once I had the flannel, I just walked around with it until I found these cotton pieces I liked with it.

Once home, I sat down and drew out my idea for the stripes. How I wanted them placed and the color order etc. 

Then I just jumped right in! I cut out and sewed the stripes together. Then placed the batting with the flannel pieces on either side and sewed the striped right on top. 

 Then, as you can see above, I did freehand wavy quilting across the blanket. Then cut out the little trees and birds and just sewed around each of them right onto the blanket as well. The edges are raw. One day I'll learn to applique but for now, I'm happy with this. :)

Here's the back. You can kind of see the quilting in this pic too. Just a little.

This is by far my favorite quilt so far (other than my hope quilt, for sentimental reasons). 

And actually I did the border in two different colors because I really wanted green all the way around but ran out so I thought it would be fun with two and I ended up loving that about it too!

My label is the rectangle above the birds and trees. :)

{WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE Themed Nursery Art and Decor}

One of my very greatest friends in all the world was finally blessed with her little guy last year after a long battle with infertility. She asked me to (hired me) do her nursery art/decor for her. She knew what theme she wanted and showed me some ideas and let me take it from there. That's my absolute favorite way to work. You tell me what style you like and any ideas you already know you love and want and then I use my skills an ideas to make it all happen! 

I'll admit, I had never ever made arrows before and when I told her I would do it I had no idea how I would but that I was going to figure it out. And I did. I love problem solving and coming up with my own ways to make things work. 

They finally got in their new home and she got to put everything up in his nursery. The following two pics are ones she sent me once everything was hung.

Where The Wild Things Are, Max pen drawing and acrylic painting on canvas with quote. 

Hand-Painted Acrylic on canvas: Wild Thing with Quote.

Hand painted Acrylic on canvas: Adventurer

The arrows below were made using wooden dowels from Hobby Lobby, arrowheads from off Amazon, hand-painted and wrapped with thin rope and feathers attached to the ends.

The letters below are made with wooden letters purchased from Hobby Lobby, fabric from JoAnn's, mod-lodged on in scraps. 

{Idaho Backroads Triptych: Acrylic on canvas}

I did these three for my sister. They're from pictures I took on the way to her in-law's family cabin in Southern Idaho in the winter. I loved the gold of the fields against the white of the snow and the blue hue to everything. I never got great pictures of them but wanted to document it anyway.

I think they were 4in X 8in canvases, 1-2 inches deep, so I gallery wrapped the paintings. 

My dad says sometimes my work takes on an impressionist style.... I usually don't fully agree but these ones definitely had an impressionist feel to them. 

It was fun to do some small quick paintings for once!

An in-progress side view. The one farthest on the right wasn't finished. 

{Purple blossoms over water: Acrylic on canvas painting}

{Acrylic Hand Painted Landscape of Logan, Utah}

2feet X 4feet

Acrylic on canvas

North Logan and Wellsville Mountains, 2011

Pictured above is a painting I did 3 years ago for my girlfriend Darcy. We both lived in Logan at the time and loved it. Together with our husbands we finally made it a point to hike up the mountain behind their house. I took a lot of pictures while we were up there and I ended up putting a few together (3 I think) to create this painting. 

I had something else I was going to add to it and it didn't end up working out but I was really happy with it in the end. I wish I had a picture of it but just before I gave it to her, I added in the Logan Temple since it's such a major part of the town. 

So here was my quick sketch mock-up idea for what I wanted to do with the pictures I had.

Beautiful, I know....

In progress. Yes, I work on the floor most of the time. Not good for my back or neck but I enjoy it over using an easel. I like resting my elbow on the floor and using my other hand to steady my right when I do small details. 

Here's a detail photo. There were so many layers to that flower, this may be in progress....but I'm not sure. Either way, it's a pretty good shot.

Again, the finished product:

{Girl Nursery Wall Mural: Tree branch with pink flowers}

Here's a nursery wall I painted a while back. I love client friend referrals!!!! I always laugh when my clients ask me if it's ok if they pass on my info to a friend. OF COURSE! Best compliment ever and I so appreciate it!

This client came to me knowing exactly what she wanted. She gave me a picture of what she had in her daughter's first nursery and wanted it done again in their new house so she already had all the supplies.
I ammreally happy with how it turned out!
Black branches, silver metallic and light pink flowers.  After it was all painted on, 3-D flowers were added. 

Finished:

(the chandelier is what makes the wall look multicolored but it's just the lighting, fyi.)

 In progress before 3D flowers were added:

The coloring is off most in this pic. The wall is grey. The metallic silver is fun when the light hits it but if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't use silver on a grey wall but my client wanted these colors specifically. But I'm still really happy with the end product! 

Client purchased paint and flowers

My charge: $80.00

{Hand-Painted Acrylic Landscape: Lake Atitlan, Guatemala}

Cost to client:

Painting from photo: 

Canvas/12x36in/Acrylic: $200
Shipping: $15 (TX-UT)

TOTAL: $215

{Hand-Painted Acrylic on Canvas Sunset from photo}

This is what I love about what I do:

I LOVE that I get to coordinate with my clients and give them my artists advice along with options. 

I want them to have a say in their artwork. I want it to be something that, not only did I hand-paint, but also, is uniquely theirs.

(This is why I usually talk about "WE" instead of "I" when I talk about my process.)

My friend sent me a message saying her boyfriend is a photographer and she thought having one of his photos painted would be a unique and awesome anniversary gift.

Of course, I loved that idea and told her she could send me the digital photo when she chose one. Turns out, she really just couldn't decided. So instead she sent me four of her favorites and asked me to choose. 

We went with this one: 

We talked about dimension:

As a landscape, often a longer photo and thus, a longer canvas is the best option to highlight the scene. 

We then talked about size: 

What size wall do you plan to hang it on? 

Will it be a focal point on a wall or will it be hung with an arrangement? 

We chose a 12x36 inch canvas.

We talked about depth:

Do you plan on framing the artwork?

Framing is an extra cost but can definitely be worth the money.

If you aren't framing, the best option is to go with a gallery wrapped 2 inch deep canvas. This way the painting can continue around the sides and be included in the artwork. 

We went with the gallery wrap.

After that, it was up to me!

Cost to client:

Painting from photo: 

Deep Canvas/12x36in/Acrylic: $250

Gallery Wrap add-on: $30

TOTAL: $280

{Cherry Blossom Triptych painting on canvas}

I painted this cherry blossom branch a couple weeks ago. It's now hanging up for sale at my Aunt Bonnie's shop, Vintage & Violets in Barstow, California. 

Triptych acrylic hand--painted pink cherry blossom branch with chickadee bird on canvas.

Each canvas is 5inX5in and 1in deep. 

5inX15in total

Cherise Larue Davies 

{Nursery Wall Mural: White tree with purple flowers}

Last month I did this nursery wall mural for my newest niece!

Bethany showed me a couple pictures of the kind of branches she wanted and the flowers she wanted on it and I went to work! 

I SO I wish I had taken some close ups of the flowers and branches. I'll have to get some next time I'm up that way.

{A painting of a painting}

I've been trying to use up the canvases that are taking up room in our second bedroom so one day it can be used for a baby's room. 

I found a painting by another artist that I really admired so I tried to do one like his. 

I used acrylic instead of watercolor and it's not as beautiful as the original but I was happy with how it turned out and happy to have done a painting so quickly. I often think way too much and for way too long before starting a painting so it was really nice to just do it. 

Cherise Larue Davies

{Art Lessons: Painting}

This last week during our weekly art lesson (<-- a="" and="" for="" grandma.="" her="" i="" info="" nbsp="" on="" p="" painting="" pricing="" sheridyn="" small="" worked="">

She said her grandma loved purple blossoms so we sat down and I helped her come up with a plan for a scene that included purple blossoms. 

She wanted a path and a tree and a sunset and birds. 

One thing I LOVE about teaching art lessons is teaching small tricks. Younger kids especially, like Sheridyn, don't know how to use paint brushes or pencils to their advantage yet. A large part of that is that they don't have the dexterity for it. But often all they need is for you to show them an example of how to hold the brush or the pencil to create the kind of stroke or line they want. Then they try it themselves. Then, as the teacher, I'll hold her hand that it holding the brush or pencil and do the stroke with her. For Sheridyn, this makes a HUGE difference. As soon as we do each of those things she gets it and can do it herself.
One of her favorite tricks I've taught her about painting is when you have a lot of paint in your brush but its gobbed up near the top and you want to get as much out of the paintbrush as you can, you turn it on it's side and twirl the brush against the pallet or even against your canvas. This pulls the gob of paint out of the brush and makes it available for use.
I love it when she realizes while painting that she can do this. She'll stop and look at me and then look back and do it on her own while telling me that she remembers what to do.

I love teaching. :)

Cherise Larue Davies 

{Hand Painted Headboards/Wood Panel Signs}

Recently my dear friend Danielle asked me to paint two sports team wood signs for her boys' rooms for above their beds. She wanted to hang them to take the place of their headboards. 

She did the hard work of collecting the wood panels and nailing them all together how she wanted and even delivered them to my house. Oh man, she's making my life easy. :)

So she wanted the Texas Ranger's 'T' and the BYU Cougars 'Y'.

She gave me a couple of pictures she found online of how another person had done the BYU sign. I would give them credit but don't know the link! 

So I went to work looking at pictures on Google of their logos and made my own stencils and transferred them onto the wood. 

These were really fun and different for me to do and I really enjoyed it! I love trying new things!

After finishing them and delivering them to her, she sent me pics of them hung on their walls:

If you're interested in something like this, it's not in my pricing list but you can e-mail me at artlarue@gmail.com and I'll get you the info you need. 

Thanks for looking!

Cherise Larue Davies