Friday, April 22, 2011

The Winner!! And: In the Library

Since I know that you are all itching to find out who won the HoneyPop Stamp set and coordination Honeycomb Paper, I'll be nice and get to that first. 

Hopefully, you'll stick around for a tour of the Library. 

Ok....ok!!  The winner from my blog is (insert drum roll here___________)


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Marilyn! (newfiecrafter)

Marilyn, contact me at offroadtoad@msn.com (subject HoneyPop) and I will give you the information on how to collect your HoneyPop prize!!


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Yesterday, I spent the entire day standing on a ladder in the Library. 

Nope.  I wasn't looking for a book.

I was painting books.  Yep.  I spent my day painting books and other knic knacks in the Library.

Easter is upon us once again, and our church is putting on a production, Once Upon an Eternity.  I have NO idea what the premise is of this production.  Except a very small sneak peek I got when I was talking to the gal who was in charge of the backdrop leads me to believe that the idea is making a favorite story come alive. 

I'll have to get back to you on what it actually was.

ANYHOOS!!  My friend Jen asked if I could help with the painting of the backdrop.  She actually did the majority of the work.  First, she built Library shelves out of some VERY large pieces of cardboard and added some decorative molding.  Then she did some painting.

pictures sent from Jen's phone



Jen wasn't happy with the lack of dimension on her painting.  She claims that adding shadows and such are not her thing.  I personally think she could do it.  But, being the good friend I am, I helped out.


Now here is the  hard part about painting backdrops: You can't get picky about the FINE details.  You know, all the perfect shading that makes a Trompe L'oeil painting so realistic.  One needs to keep in mind that A) one is painting on a piece of CARDBOARD, that may, or may not, be save in storage for another time.  B) the fine details are lost when viewed from the back of a church, auditorium or other large gathering place.  C) one is painting on CARDBOARD and how much time does one really want to invest for a temporary illusion? (about 5 1/2 hours it would seem in my case.  geesh!)











Some of you with sharp eyes will also notice that only the top three shelves of the bookcases were done.  That is because the  3-4 narrators sit or stand in the Library the entire time (the story takes place on the stage that is to the right of the bookcases).  I did not feel that it was necessary to "waste" my time painting an area that will not been seen for the most part.  And also, because, the viewer's eye is not drawn down towards the actors feet, but at their upper bodies.  Again, one must keep in mind that this is a cardboard backdrop!!

That's about it for me today!  I hope to be back with a b-day card for the Toad in the next day or so.  If not, you'll know that he has a flakey wife and that she didn't get it done! BHWHAAAAA!! 

'Till then........................

7 comments:

Broni said...

Geez, Starla! From afar those library shelves look perfectly real! Awesome job!

Gail Dixon said...

Amazing work! You are a gifted artist, I must say.

Happy Easter to you and yours!

CuddlyBunny said...

Congrats to Marilyn!

And Starla ... those bookshelves! WOW! They are truly eye-popping wonderful!

Melody (lacyquilter) said...

Cool.

newfiecrafter(Marilyn) said...

Woo Hoo so excited to have won on your blog . I emailed you as you requested . Congratulations to all the other winners too .
The book shelves look so real.

Sylvia said...

Starla, Your artwork is terrific. What a great friend you are? I loved your comment on my blog about the dark side. I am glad you loved the cards, the colors are beautiful! I got started with SU because I lived in a small town in Southern Co. and I had no opportunity to get everything from one place. I love other things, but just don't buy or use them because I can still get everything I need in one place! I ordered from Kirsty to help her out and of course I had to use some of it as she wanted to see what I would do with it. I only have so much time so I try and play with what I have ordered! I love Websters Pages and have quite a bit of it, just do not cut it up! I could have giveaways forever. I hope you have a wonderful Easter!

kaiandkristi said...

You totally ROCK! That's amazing with the shadowing, etc. I would have thought I'd done pretty well with the 2 dimensional looking picture, but then you add your touch and it's amazing!! Seriously impressed with your talent!