Nautical Nursery

You’ll have to pardon the pun, but it really was smooth sailing working on this Nautical Nursery.  I love it when murals come together easily, and what made this job even more enjoyable was the fact I painted it for a former co-worker and his lovely wife.  They’re expecting their first baby any day now, and what can I say?  He works in TV, so that should explain why he called me so close to deadline!

To be honest, the nursery was already darling.  It was painted a soft blue and decorated beautifully with nautical touches like fish netting, a life preserver buoy, and even a wooden boat steering wheel.  

So, how do you improve on such perfection?  These parents-to-be decided they wanted a mural of a boat on the back wall.  Here’s what it looked like when it was bare:  

I painted a simple sail boat on one side of the wall, and then decided to add a nautical compass on the other to balance it out.  I normally free-hand everything, but knowing how tricky it would be to draw a perfect circle, I tried something different this time.  I used a projector to put the image on the wall.  I traced it and then painted it.  Wow!  I had no idea how helpful a projector could be.  Something tells me I’ll be using one a lot more in the future.  

Thanks to the projector, the murals for this Nautical Nursery were completed in just under six hours.  And, as a finishing touch, I added the baby’s name on the side of the boat.  Every boat needs a name, right?  And what better excuse to personalize this room!  Just don’t expect to see any pictures of it.  The baby’s name is a surprise, and I promised not to tell a soul.  What fun!  Welcome to the world, little one!  You’re off to a great start with loving parents ready to be your compass to navigating life.    

Posing with proud Dad-to-be, Paul Horton, from CBS 5