Color Pick

I can't believe how the votes here and on facebook were overwhelmingly the thirties camper. 

I made a palette of 30's greens from color picking in Photoshop various thirties items from jewelry, fashion, housewares, and vehicles. 

I like them all in a way - which do you prefer? 

Camper Art Gallery Designs

So I have the camper primed! If you are following along and want to paint the outside of a camper to make a mobile art gallery of your own, I'll let you know the process as it goes. I looked into what paint to use and after deciding not to use car paint (because it is expensive), and not to use rustoleum (because I was told its color fades fast) - I decided to use what a lot of websites said to: exterior house paint! I know I was surprised too. Since the aluminum had the factory finish on it all I had to do to prep was lightly sand and wash it. That is if you forget all the stickers to remove and caulking to fix. :-) 

The primer I used was Glidden Gripper for latex paint. It gave me some problems when it was sunny because it dried super fast, leaving some goopy stuff that I will need to sand off with a fine sandpaper. I wanted to spray the primer but it was too thick to squirt out the sprayer and it said not to thin it down. 

So the next step is sanding, like I said, and then paint job! I have two designs I like below that I sketched in thumbnail. I have already bought a vintage looking red and white striped canopy that will go IN FRONT of the camper over the door and the whole of that side. I am showing it on the side in my sketches so it doesn't block the design. 

The first design is a space age design that would go with the name my daughter came up with for the camper: Hover Craft. My camper is propped up really high so it can be dragged up a mountainside, so I was trying to come up with a name that went with that. The blue will probably be different but you get the idea. I also have a little tail fin thing at the top that a lot of campers have that would have to be made and attached.

This design I think goes with my kitsch art and has a fun feel. 

 My other design is thirties inspired. It has almost a jadeite green, but a little darker. I would have to beef up the red accents to go with the red and white awning (that again will be in front of the camper, not the side). It kind of reminds me of girl scouts and bright red and shiny camping gear.

The 30's design is clean and simple and much more traditional.

So let me know what you think!

Camper Update

I just got back from another summer trip. This time it was back home to Chicago to visit my Mom and sister with the kids. We do it twice a year and get to visit amazing places with family. This year we added a trip to the top of Willis Tower, the American Girl store, and as always to go see the Bean sculpture at Millenium Park. I love that sculpture - I don't think I could ever tire of it.

So now I am back to work and getting worried about school and the fall art shows coming on fast. I am committed to have my camper gallery up and running before Columbus Day weekend for our Fall Foliage Art Studio Tour. 

It doesn't look like I've done much but at one point this baby was a military camper and in its many lives it gained many stickers! Before painting I had to remove them all, and sand. There is also some messy frosting like caulk that I am just trying to give a clean edge to so it doesn't look funny when being painted. My firend Lisa Is sooo good at this kind of stuff so I have her coming this week with her paint sprayer to kick the project in gear! First we are painting it with a primer for aluminum and then we need to paint it all white and then finally the color I choose for the camper. I want it white and something else... but still need to pick it.

In my original post I said I wanted to paint it turquoise but I talked one friend (so far) into doing a camper art gallery with me and hers came beautiful on the outside in a light turquoise. Can we say jealous much! She had the foresight to make a kickstarter fundraiser to help pay for it - I wish I had thought of that! Here's her website where you can see her beauty. Although the outside of hers looks great she still needs to empty the inside and get it gallery ready. I love her idea of having a hanging system on the outside as well as the inside. http://www.kristinawentzell.com/

Okay so here is what colors I am trying to decide on... I already bought a red and white striped awning so it has to match that.



This is what I riginally wanted to do. I c ould just got a shade darker than Kristina's.



They actually look quite cool in red - especially if I add a zig-zag!



Or what about green?

I need your help and opinions! Make sure to look at Krisitina's to see why I am wavering on the turquoise!

Here's my original camper post where I talk about where I came up with the idea! http://www.nicolecaulfieldfineart.blogspot.com/2012/07/camper.html

Edit: It is now raining and it says rain for at least the next 5 days! ugh! Also there is one major snafu on the color. I have been given the good advice of keeping the color light because it will fade! Especially red so that is definitely out! ft!

Mushrooms Squared

Mushrooms Squared

8" x 8"

$200 original $50 framed print on canvas 

I thought I better do a couple of neutral ones to go with the series. This one has a lot of color actually for being a neutral! 

Blue & Yellow

Blue and Yellow Squared

(Peaches and Blueberries)

8" x 8"

Colored Pencil on Pastelbord

I was asked to do one that is blue and yellow, which sounds easier than it is. There are just not that many foods available that are blue. There is also the problem that I want all these pieces to actually taste good together - so I wouldn't for instance put together blueberries and squash. Anyway I came up with peaches, bananas, and blueberries and they did taste good together. We even went to the blueberry farm Monadnock Berries and picked the blueberries fresh. mmmmmmm