Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Paradise Is A Garden




Spring Will Come.....

I left you, Dear Readers, with the very beginnings of the Chinoiserie wall murals, and I must confess, that they are taking longer than even I imagined they would to paint! They are not quite finished, but I must show you an update on their progress! I was on vacation last week and did almost Nothing besides paint these TINY walls... and at the end of my extended week off... all I could do was look at the walls and think "Is that ALL I have accomplished?"!! Because they are So Small! Well... let me show you how it went...
To begin with, I added the "glass" panes to the Balcony doors with my favorite painted mesh treatment...
You can see them below....

And then I began to add to the painted walls.....
And the interior of the doors is still not completed here....
 
And then tested the look of the decorative trim around the door...

I think it will make the Balcony feel like a little Pagoda from inside....!
And I started to paint the details on all the walls...
The back wall and the window wall shown here have most of the basic trees done 
and  the birds are underpainted for positioning...

And the above walls with the planters painted and the other wall too....
There is some overlap in the walls on the sides which will be trimmed 
when they are ready to be glued in place.....

And more details.... 
Here you can see the walls being tested in place in the room to see how the placement looks...
And the beginnings of the Peacock over the mantle...

And here the doors to the Balcony are shown....
With most of the birds painted.... 
and the "Gazebo " trim attached....
 
And here you can see the doors to the Balcony open....
Even though the door is still detached from the Tree for painting.....!
 
And then I decided the lower part of the wall needed some added shrubs...

They "ground" the composition more... 
and bring in more of that magical blue....
But I must confess I have No Idea what type of flower they are!!!
I try to paint plants I can identify.... 
but I did see a plant like this on one of the antique wallpapers....
So I am convinced it must be real...
and added some to the dressing room wall too, along with a peony... 
even though they will be mostly hidden behind the bed ...!

For the longest time I could not decide what to put over the Fireplace... 
and then I decided it was the only place for a glorious Peacock.....
You can see the beginnings here...
 
But then I looked closer at the real birds ... via the internet....
And amended my versions....

If you look closely you will spot the differences! 
I think they turned out rather well!
So by now we Must test the walls together in the room again....

It is really difficult to get good pictures of these walls in place... 
it  is SO hard to get the lighting and the focus even....
But it gives you an idea of how it is coming along....
This is a little further away....
 
And the back wall was still missing a whole lot of details.....
I could not decide what to paint on the door to the hallway....
And eventually decided to go with the herons....
 

And here is a closer view....

Usually they are shown standing in water... but this is a Tree House! 
So if you need to imagine them in water... 
it is right behind the shore they are standing on....!
And the side wall has had the window added.... and the birds painted....
 
So must we see them in place again...?

But it is Winter... it is Late and Dark... 
and the pictures are not lighting well.... 
Unless we add the Glaring spot lights.....
Which washes out the colors.....

And reveals all the flaws...
Here you can see the outer door open too...
 
And the side wall....

And maybe a better view of the whole room....

Unless you prefer the moodier shot from through the Balcony doors.....

Here .... come closer......
There's the Peacock.....
 
And the Herons too.....

I don't know about you, Dear Readers, 
but I Believe that a Garden is Paradise...
And even though this one is rather small... 
I think I will just sit here Dreaming...
Because the Snow is still deep outside my doors...
But inside, I Know that Spring Will come!

36 comments:

  1. Your art work is incredible! This room looks so rich!!

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  2. It's unbelievable this artwork of yours when one realizes the size of this work. Just so amazing!

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    1. Thank you, Lucille! I find this scale very mesmerizing! Lol! And I love to paint tiny details!

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  3. Everything looks really amazing together. The paintings that you have done on the walls are beautiful

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  4. Just stunning!!
    I am not at all surprised that it took you that long. They are very detailed murals with lots of pretty flowers and birds, that Peacock is so beautiful. You know it's easy to be fooled that something small will take less time, the detail is in fact harder to do so small, I am amazed sometimes how a small piece can take almost as long as a big one!

    ML Fi xx

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    1. Thank you, Fi! I am always Fooling myself, when I think it won't take very long... but I should know better! Maybe it is just the optimist in me... !

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  5. It's a masterpiece...it is gorgeous, unbelievable and breathtaking. The peacock, herons, flowers, birds, everything is so beautiful! And the trimming around the window and doors is perfect!!! it's a wonderful magical room...indeed a little paradise! Love it!!!

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  6. Watching just a glimps of first photo I really thought you're making a garden Betsy! Thought to myslef: another project???. LOL! I LOVE this room! It's so so much me!:D As usual fantastic paintings!

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    1. Hee hee, I have to laugh, Ewa... I think you know I am crazy enough to be starting Several more projects! Lol! (I just haven't dared to show them in my blog yet....!)
      As for this room... I wish I had ALL these rooms in RL!!! That's why we build them I suppose...!

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  7. Besty,
    The balcony pagoda takes my breath away! The entire room is a masterpiece,
    It reminds me of Henry Davis Sleeper's Beauport. I want to stay there!
    Philip

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  8. You made an unique miniature-room, so detailed and it radiates an exotic, chinese sphere. It took you a whole week of your vacation but really....the result is perfect, so your time was well spent!

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    1. Thank you, Liduina! Most importantly... I enjoyed every minute because I Love to paint!

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  9. I love the last picture, looking in through the door to the peacock above the fireplace. Lovely flowers, just like your real bedroom.
    Lots of love,
    Mom
    (Spring WILL come, never fear)

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    1. Thanks, Mom! But first we get more snow this weekend and all next week! I'll keep Dreaming!
      Love you too!

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  10. I just had to return to tell you how much I love your chosen colours for your murals. Your beautiful peacock takes my breath away. And, those little vases just amaze me. They are so small and perfect! Your bed is absolutely one of a kind! You are so very, very talented and so very, very patient! You must love what you do very much!

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    1. Thank you, Lucille! Thank you for visiting again and looking so carefully and commenting again! (I really enjoyed painting those vases and making them all different!) And the colors... I LOVE color!!! Yes, I do love it very much! Thank you for commenting again! :)

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  11. This room is very special. I like your murals; the peacock is beutiful.
    Bye Faby

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  12. You accomplished so much... and we all know that things don't get easier just because of a smaller size. ;O) Your murals are breathtaking, absolutely breathtaking. You manage to add so much details in your beautiful paintings in that "size" that it's pure magic. That peacock over the fireplace... beautiful. I could look at your pictures forever. And not to forget that pagoda/gazebo over the balcony door - so lovely.

    Greetings
    Birgit

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    1. Thank you, Birgit! I am so glad you love to look at them! That gives me great pleasure! And isn't it a miracle, this Blogland, where you can come and "Visit" my creations and I can come and "visit" yours!!! Please come whenever you like!!!

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  13. Oh Betsy! You are a true Artist - I still can't believe you are working in 1:24 scale!!
    I love the Chinese painted walls and the bed carving. It's just wonderful, well done xx

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    1. Thank you Simon! But I have to tell you, you are mistaken... not 1:24.... but 1:48!!! The rooms are about 3 and one half inches tall! :) Scary, isn't it?

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  14. Beautiful Betsy! It indeed looks like Paradise.

    hugs,
    Victoria

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    1. Thank you, Victoria! It IS Paradise... just wish I was small enough to crawl inside! LOL! Thank you for dropping in!!!

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  15. Betsy! You are a marvel!

    When I first saw this room, with its plain green walls and black marble fireplace, I imagined some Art Deco Hollywood glamour. It may not be Hollywood, but it is pure theatre! I love all your fine detail in the murals, so many flowers and birds; it's just incredible! Love the peacock and the herons, and all the chinese style details around doors and windows, the pagoda balcony is inspired, and of course, the pagoda four poster bed fits in perfectly!

    I think I will look out for some small chinese style beads for you, so you can make some vases for the room. I have some, but think they'd be too big, if I find any small ones, I'll send them too you!

    great work, well worth the effort!!

    hugs
    Andy xxxx

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    1. Hi Andy! Thank you for thinking of finding beads for me! I have a couple of "Cloisonne" ones which might end up in here... but so far most beads are too large ...the Room is so darn small! LOL! Anything over 1/4 inch is Giant in this scale!

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  16. Your paintings are like a breathe of warm Spring air - and very beautifully executed. No wonder you had a difficult time photographing them, they have so much detail for such a small scale!

    Whoever sleeps in this room is certain to have lovely dreams!

    Jonquil

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  17. Thank you, Jonquil! We need that warm Spring air right now! (More snow coming our way!)I love detail and always wish I was adding more... !

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  18. Hi Betsy,

    I love what you are doing. The birds are lovely.
    Hugs,
    Lucy

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  19. Betsy, I simply can't get over this. You won't believe the number of times I am scrolling down and then up and then down just to look at all the details. I even played spot the difference with your peacock and it was not difficult. Your constant relentless quest for perfection is inspiring to say the least. And that door to the balcony, I am shaking my head as I type. You make me want to get up now to work on my house. I love your balcony .

    Bets, I cannot imagine this is just a small room! Imagine you building a Chinoiserrie house! A whole house! What a visual treat that will be. At 1:48, it is doable.

    I still cannot believe that we are both working on a 1:48 house at the same time. But I am using mine to build a 1:24 shed or a 1:12 even smaller shed. Can you imagine I still cannot decide what scale I am at?

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  20. Beautifully done and so hard to believe they are so small. You truly have a talent!

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  21. Just stunning work, Betsy!!! And Si....thinking it was in 1:24 scale :D!! Yes, a lot of people think: it is smaller then 1:12 scale, so it don't take so much time, but YOU know......;) that is NOT true, it just takes MORE time.
    Your murals are really stunning, Betsy, in relation to the scale you're working in. This room is beautifully realised with chinoiserie objects in every detail, it is a masterwork!! I love to see all the details you show in your pictures, thank you for sharing, Betsy!
    Warm hugs from a cold Nederland, Ilona

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