Home Theatre & Media Room � Santa Rosa, CA (2001)

This one was fun and much more work than I originally thought it would be.  The room was a small Home Theatre & Media Room that also doubled as a private retreat room for the owner, a single dad.  The room was only about 200 square feet with a vaulted ceiling that extended to 14 feet.  This was my first opportunity to paint my Out There In Space concept.  This room was painted not only on the ceiling but also on all of the walls, floor to ceiling and even on the window coverings and the inside of the entry door.  The project took several days to complete and included a very long section of the Milky Way that started in one corner at the peak of the vaulted ceiling and extended down and across two walls.  The door was painted to include an illusionary �porthole�, as the only way out of this otherworldly environment.  I recently was called back for some enhancements and was literally awestruck by the dynamic qualities of that room.  While this theme may not be for everyone, the feeling you get when sitting on the sofa in that room is one of truly floating in space.

2 Children�s Rooms � Del Mar, CA (2005)

Wow�what a challenging day.  The project was located in a new estate with 12-foot ceilings throughout.  The first challenge was the timing�I had 2 rooms, with furniture, 2 different pastels to formulate for, 12-inch wide crown molding all around, and only 8 hours total to complete�working by myself�in the dark.  The main challenge was the timing; the art was a gift from the owner to her grandchildren that had recently moved in with her during a difficult divorce.  She wanted it to be a surprise for the kids so the work needed to be completed while they were in school.  I literally flew through the project on my new Little Giant ladder system and the rooms were each unique and beautiful when I finished.  The kids didn�t have a clue and were quite surprised and pleased when they saw their StarMurals.  I love doing these kids rooms, in one day, as surprises, while the kids are in school�but, from now on, only one room in one day�I was sure tired and hurting after that one.

Monaco Motor Coach � Palm Desert, CA (2003)

This was my first paying RV StarMural�I had already painted my own Class A Motorhome, so I had some experience in this venue.  This was a very high-end new Monaco coach and the owners were split�she loved the concept and was trusting, while he was skeptical and apprehensive.  The challenges were many�space constraints, multiple ceiling fixtures of diverse finishes and textures and the ceiling material itself�my first project on short nap �carpet� material.  Paint absorption, sheen formulation and other considerations turned this small space into an all day job.  In the end both owners were super happy with their custom StarMural and have referred several other high-end motor coach clients, over the last couple of years.  To date I have completed over 20 RV projects on a wide variety of substrates, including carpet, vinyl, fiberglass and other materials.

Private Residence � 2 Rooms - San Diego (2001)

This house will always be very special to me because it so totally validated my StarMurals concept.  This unique custom home in Imperial Beach was one of my first �paying� jobs.  The owner was a business acquaintance with a fun style and sense of adventure. She instantly visualized the StarMural, when I described it, and immediately asked when I could paint her guest room. As it turned out, I was available the next week.  I completed her guest room in one day and she was too busy to come home from the office to see the finished art.  The idea was to be as a novelty for her guests and initially as a surprise for her husband.  The story goes that the couple, with husband resistant to sleeping in the �guest room�, tried out the room on that first night, Tuesday.  They were both so impressed with their StarMural that they slept in the guest room again on Wednesday and Thursday nights.  On Friday, she called me with an urgent request�when could I come back and paint their master suite?  They were so hooked on the StarMural that they could not imagine sleeping in a room without it.  I am happy to say that this reaction is quite normal and has resulted in several multi-room call back projects.  Also, I�ve been commissioned by several of this owner�s guests who have experienced that early era StarMural, which still glows brightly each and every night.

Day & Night Sky � Windsor, CA (2003)

In late 2003 I opened a small showroom and gallery in the wine country of Northern California. As part of my continuing artistic evolution, I created my first StarMurals Day & Night Sky project.  Because this was a commercial office space and the ceiling was the suspended type with small square panels and long fluorescent lights, I decided to paint this, my principle display, on a large wall of about 200 square feet.  I had commercial painters paint the �sky blue� background, and then I painted the puffy white clouds in visible white paint.  Next I painted a beautiful invisible StarMural over the top of the finished visible work.  The result was stunning�a beautiful and peaceful daytime sky mural, in visible light, evolving to a dynamic 5 dimensional night sky that glows all night with hundreds of twinkling stars, shooting stars and, of course, a beautiful view of the Milky Way.  The day sky evolves naturally into the night sky each evening and transitions back to the day sky, in the morning�there�s nothing else like it.

Guest Room � Borrego Springs, CA (2003)

This one was also quite unique as well as challenging.  The room was a 400 square foot guest room located in a golf course estate that was undergoing a multi-million dollar makeover.  The challenges were several; ceiling was vaulted and went up from a height of 10 feet on one wall to nearly 16 feet on the opposite side of the room. I had one assistant on this project and had to balance my materials, and myself, very high above the floor, on a ladder I was not familiar with.  And, as if that wasn�t challenging enough, during the whole 10 hour day I worked, men with chip hammers were tearing out the floor in the kitchen next door�the noise was intense.  The StarMural turned out beautiful though, involving the ceiling and one wall with a mountainscape. The owner said the art was exactly what she had fantasized it would be�just the effect she was looking for.  When she wrote my check she included a very generous tip and suggested I have a nice dinner on her.  That was the first tip I ever received�unexpected but certainly appreciated.

Private Estate - 3 Rooms � Claremont, CA (2002)

This was another special project for me.  The project was in a newly remodeled estate property, and was referred by a prominent Southern California designer.  The job was 2 children�s rooms, during one day, a surprise, while the kids were in school.  The kids were literally going out of the driveway to school, as my assistant and myself were pulling up to the gated entry.  The idea was a surprise Christmas gift for the owner�s 2 boys.  After finishing the first room and showing it to the parents, they booked a return visit for the following week to paint a large-scale project in their master suite.  It�s surprising how many times this has happened.  In fact, about 80% of the people that first hear about my work say something like��that would be great in a kid�s room.�  The reality is quite different�80% of my work has actually been in adult rooms.

Private Estate - 4 Rooms � Riverside, CA (2003)

Another great multi-room project in a new estate property.  I had previously painted StarMurals in 2 rooms of the house they were moving from.  As is pretty much always the case, once you�ve slept with a StarMural, it is hard to imagine being without one in your next home.  This was fun because I was able to get in to do the work for 2 whole days before the family moved in�plenty of unobstructed wide-open spaces to work in.  I worked for 2 consecutive nights, painting 2 kid�s rooms, 1 mother-in-law suite and a very unique �parent�s retreat� room.

Master Suite � Windsor, CA (2004)

This one was a master suite of about 400 square feet with some rather unique dynamics.  The room was basically 20 x 20 with a unique peaked ceiling.  The ceiling peaked from both sides of the room to the middle, where it became flat for about 5 feet�resulting in a peaked ceiling that took on a more rounded look when painted with the StarMural.  In addition, there was an 8-foot high, full panel, mirror wall, behind the bed, that ran the full length of the wall, on one side of the room.  The �mirror effect� as I like to call it, is always an unintended enhancement and has worked well in many of my rooms�usually a dresser mirror, sometimes a closet with mirror doors�extra stars at no extra charge.  This one was super special because the mirror wall, which ran right up to the beginning of the peak ceiling, created a unique, rounded effect in the room.  Of course there were a few extra shooting stars and an extra section of the Milky Way, but the finished room was really something to see.  The clients were so happy that they invited me to have dinner with their family and we�ve become good friends�I am always welcome as their houseguest, whenever I�m in town.