I have a small home and I am proud of it. When you walk in the front door, you are greeted by a faux leather couch, tapestry throw pillows and a coffee table.  There is a candle I light for special company. This is the relaxing grown up area, it is a kid free zone.

Except that, It is also where the TV is and the phone charger and the ipads and basically where the kids hang out everyday mucking it up with juice boxes and snacks.

So everyday I argue with my boys,”Don’t jump on that, take your shoes off, the floor is not lava, the coffee table is not a fort for your lego battles, who drew on television?, why is there a bag of shredded cheese stuffed in the couch? why are you naked with water guns turning my precious faux leather couch into a slip and slide?”

It is really only a kid free zone by the time everyone gets sent to time out, for basically…just being a kid in the wrong part of the house.

That is why I fell in love with the Wowen* Family (*Name changed to protect their privacy) They are renovating their home….and incorporating their kids right into the design.  Not hidden off in a playroom down the hall, not in a dark basement or stuffy attic. The Wowens made their whole home kid friendly starting in their entryway.

I was hired to paint a tree on a wall in the entryway a few weeks ago. On the first visit, I outlined a door and some windows and the construction crew cut them out and hinged them from the inside. This wall is a thick plywood and was already primed and painted for my arrival! The doors and windows lead to a two story playhouse, with a ladder built in…This is where other families might have their pantry…..the alternate doors lead into the kitchen so parents can keep an eye on the twin toddlers inhabiting the treehouse.

I consider myself a digital artist nowadays, It is rare that I will drive to someones house and paint directly on their wall… Most of my recent murals have been illustrated and then printed on giant sheets of wallpaper or vinyl….There are pros and cons to both applications, and every mural deserves it’s own analysis…..

The above is an example of a printed mural, I can make these anywhere in the country without leaving my studio. It is printed on strips of pebbled vinyl and hung by a handyperson. Should the owner (In this case a movie theater ) choose to move, the file can simply be reprinted. In some cases, murals can be printed on reposition-able wallpapers. Perfect for smaller projects or children’s rooms that might change with time.

This magic tree mural really called for actual paint and I loved the experience.

During the course of painting this tree I developed a really bad ear infection, which I mention only so I can share how skinny my eustachian tubes are.

I am also constantly amazed by the serendipity of the universe.  I chose the best possible house to paint a mural in while experiencing an ear infection. Mrs. Wowen is a P.A. “hold on, let me get my otoscope” she offered one day…I found it really hard to maintain my composure when she said that, That is the absolute greatest thing anyone on the planet could say to me at anytime for any reason….even if I didn’t have an ear infection.  I am pretty sure I would still be married if instead of saying ” I DO” My ex husband had said ” Hold on let me get my otoscope”.

Anyway, by the end of the second day of painting, you can really see how the entryway will come together.  One of my favorite things about Mrs.Wowen, aside from her bag of medical implements is that she really likes the band Kiss. She had asked that I somehow incorporate that into the mural. The Barred owl was also sentimental to the family so I made sure to incorporate that as well as sea turtles and other local wildlife.

Here is a detail, I made my own sons model… rubbing in the fact that they don’t have anything near this cool in their own house . Ogden is peeking out a tree knot that has a fish reading a book and you can see the message in the bottle, painted to stimulate creative minds ” I wonder what is written in there”?

Kosmo is thrilled to be modeling from the second story of the playhouse . This is the “Magic Clock” and when you look thru it YOU become the clock face….get it, clock face.

This is just another detail of the door and window on the first floor.