Whimsical Artist: Animal Themed Paintings

By Charlotte Holder

When looking for wall hangings, I have found that artwork with an animal theme can be quite a delight to work with. I was asked by a friend to lend a hand in finding some artwork for walls of a new house she had purchased. After a surprising short discussion, we decided to search for several animal themed paintings since she was such an enormous animal lover.

Although most of her new furnishings are contemporary, the animal themed paintings we found bring a sense of fun and whimsy to the room. Once we found paintings that matched her color scheme, we found that the two styles complement each other extremely well.

Another friend was looking to replace a few of his existing artwork pieces as his updated the furnishing in his home. I ran across a fun piece featuring animals and children that I felt would make a nice addition. The painting struck such a chord with him that he decided to purchase a few more pieced by the same artist.

A decorator friend told me of a project she worked on which called for her to find several abstract paintings which gave off an animalistic aura. She was told by her client that she didnt want the more narrowly defined animal themed paintings. Each piece was indeed quite interesting and did give quite a unique animal feel.

Speaking of abstract, a fellow artist once told me that she was commissioned to produce an animal themed mural in the Cubist style. The resulting mural was quite unique and did indeed have a Picassoesque feel to it.

Not long ago, a friend graduated from Veterinary School and decided to open his own practice. He specifically wanted paintings and accessories that were animal themed that gave pet owners a sense of fun. Every room was filled with whimsical artwork and accessories that seemed to put most of his clients at ease.

Another friend speaks of a music teacher who teaches music and musical instruments to younger children. Her classroom is filled with paintings of animals playing different instruments. She is convinced these fun filled whimsical paintings gives the younger students a sense of confidence they would not otherwise feel when beginning to learn music.

Bottom line is I have seen animal themed paintings being used for almost every occasion and personality type. Paintings of any type of animal you can think of and even some of a more abstract nature. Animal themed paintings run the gamut of tastes and do not seem to lessen in appeal for those young or old who happened to be child-like at heart.

About the Author:

Charlotte Holder has received numerous awards for her paintings and designs. Her one woman art shows include Memphis State University, The Huntsville Museum of Art, The Little Rock Museum of Art, and The Meridian Museum of Art. Charlotte lives to bring humor and a sense of the possible to children and collectors of all ages. Click here form more information about Charlotte Holder and her whimsical artwork.

Spray Paint You Car in 6 Easy Steps - Why Not?

By Esti Edwards

With the failing economy and the falling wages of worker, perhaps the solution to giving your car a different look will be to give your car a complete new paint job. If the mechanics and the engine of the car is in good shape, but you do not fancy the car body, then painting it will be the ideal answer.

Its a fantastic money saver, but even more so if you do it yourself as opposed to having it professionally done up in the workshop. You can do it right if you study the basics and follow the instructions for car spray painting. It's important though if you decide you are going to take on this project that you are ready to see it complete till the end.

First of all, you require various supplies. These comprise of:

-coverings to protect the unpainted areas and masking tape to hold these in place -a good car-wash detergent and brush as well as a wax/grease remover. -several grits of sand-paper -primers and paint that's urethane base for the car spray painting -paint sprayer -safety equipment such as masks, goggles and protective clothing -knife and putty for fill ins.

One : You must make sure that you wash the car thoroughly to remove all grime and debris. If you don't then these things will be set in with your paint, leaving a very frustrating look to the completed job. Follow up with a wax/grease remover so the paint you use for the car spray painting would adhere the right way.

2 : Remove whatsoever rough spots by sanding. Once this has been done be certain to rinse off whatsoever of the loose sandings. This's where you will want to use the putty to fill in whatever minor pit marks, that are have been caused from stones for instance.

Three : Dont get in too much of a hurry to start your car spray painting. The car must be wholly dry so it is best to leave it to do so for a couple of hours. You can go ahead and cover whatever of the areas that your do not want to get paint on.

Four : Now you're ready to begin with the primer. Dont skip this step, as it'll give a much improved look to the finished project. It helps the paint to adhere the right way and allows for a more even finish. Next, once the primer is dry you'll need to gently sand it down.

5 : You are eventually at the step you have been waiting for. Its time to apply the color for your car spray painting. Whether you've chosen to use aerosol paints or a spray gun, the premise remains the same. Just apply thin coats. A few would probably be necessary. A Couple light coats are much better than one thick coat. You would be able to tell simply by looking at the car how many more coats of paint it'll require. Various will just require two where as a few others might require three or four.

6 : In conclusion, down to the last step and that's applying the clear coat. This's done exactly the same as the colored coats.

Now you can have a look at your personalized car spraying.

About the Author:

Discover how to spray paint your car in 2 hours or less with SprayPaintSecrets. You can download free videos on car spray painting and bodywork repair lessons in the official site now.

Every Good Scrapbook Page Layout Needs This

By Anne Bell

If you had to describe scrapbooks in just one word, chances are it would be "fun". Scrapbooking is undeniably a fun hobby; making a scrapbook is fun, they're fun to flip through and they're a perfect way to remember those fond memories. Scrapbooking is popular precisely because it's so fun - and this is a hobby which has an enduring appeal to people of every age and every lifestyle.

Aside from providing you with a fun and unique way of remembering events and significant details that took place in your life, scrapbooks are also one of the many tools in which you can express yourself. You don't need to be artistic to create your own scrapbook. However, there are some things that you should bear in mind when making a scrapbook to make it functional as well as exciting to look at. Number one on the list is the page layout.

As you very well know, the page layout of scrapbooks does not have to follow a certain format. If all of the pages of your scrapbook look the same, the whole thing will become boring to look at. However, what you should bear in mind is that each scrapbook page must contain certain things in order to make it interesting enough. These things must be arranged in no particular order but the rule of thumb is to include them in each page as much as possible. What are these? Read on and find out.

Margin: Scrapbooks need margins - these are the spaces you leave at the edge of each page to allow you to attach your pages to each other. Whether you plan to sew your pages together or attach them by another method, your margin is where this will be done.

Make sure to also leave a little margin along the edges so that pages can be easily turned without the risk of damaging any of your carefully placed decorations, photographs and text.

Paper Variety. Another thing is paper variety. With this, try to use a different paper for each page. The difference can be the paper's color, feel, or decorations.

Photos and/or illustrations: Scrapbooks are a very visually oriented medium, so photos are a must. If you don't have a photo to add to a page, consider using some clip art or drawing something in yourself. Images make your pages more interesting and fun to look through.

Captions: Captioning your photographs when you can is a good idea. It's fun to go back and read these captions later - and they can remind you just who was in that group photo as well as when and where the picture was taken.

Decorative accents: No scrapbook is truly complete without some purely decorative accents added. These should be on every page and can be almost anything you like: ribbons, paper cutouts, decorative borders, stickers, buttons, lace, painted elements, really anything.

Date: Include dates in your scrapbook - dates of photos, the date you made the page or the time in your life that a given page is about. In many ways, a scrapbook is like a diary; it contains memories of your life, so including a reference to time can make the pages of your book more interesting to go back and read next week or years from now.

About the Author:

Visit Anne Bell's scrapbooking layout ideas site to learn more information about scrapbooking and cricut scrapbooking.