Retro Busy Bus

Lovin' me a Retro City

I have an addiction to design.
Very late at night I will leave baby and hubby in our cozy bed and sneak downstairs to paint.
If I start surfing my go-to sites (Project Nursery, Ohdeedoh), hours whittle away with no shut-eye.
There are worse addictions.

'Busy Bus' above, caught my eye because it is especially simplistic and has that homey Richard Scary child-like illustration going on. It is sometimes a real challenge in a painting to stay simple, but the results are bold and beautiful.

Favourite elements;
-plump fig-shaped trees
-street scooter
...and of course the old school camper attached to the station wagon:)

T is for...

...Tractor!

Little J is getting a big tractor today!

The vintage-style machine billows a puff of smoke out the top and idles as it waits for the driver to return to his work. The canvas measures 3x4 feet with a background shade to match the green wall in baby J's big boy bedroom. Charcoal grays, steel blue, creamy yellows and whites keep the colour-palette neutral. Best of all, it keeps with his Pottery Barn bedding theme of construction vehicles.

Baby J's mom who has a great eye for design has also requested a footstool (to help him onto his big boy bed) and pegboard with images from the Pottery Barn bedding; C is for cement truck & B is for bulldozer. Once everything comes together, this little cutie is going to have one cool construction space for sleep and play!

Little Ben's BIG BIKE

Pairing little people with BIG artwork always results in cool bedrooms.

Little Ben and his new Moto X bike certainly have a room that is ready for the great transition from crib to big boy bed.

One of the greatest aspects of this room is the amount of time his mom has invested in making this something personal, original and all-in-the-family. Choosing a fun theme is crucial to creating a kids room, but classic keepers are those themes that remind their child of family members and trigger great stories about loved ones. This room is destined to reign as one of my favourites and I am looking forward to seeing the final product.

Viking blue walls are contrasted by strong red & black accents. Vintage motorcyle lamp and pick-up style truck adorn the side table, a bold blue replica of an old-fashioned gasoline pump and black & white family photos of Grandpa's racing cars, Dad's motocross racing days as well as the familys favourite K-9's hang over his headboard.

Ben's Moto X custom artwork from Sweet Pea is based on a photo of his own dad's bike, with a twist in colour to help add to the ambiance of the room, in a funky (and large!) 4x4 foot square canvas format. The Viking blue background to match the wall base, gives this canvas more of a blended feel to look like a mural built right into the wall, but has the advantage of being a lifetime keepsake.

Not unlike the process for the classic train and vintage bi-plane designed for the Grant boys in the 1990's, many pictures have to be collected and graphed out to be sure the proportions are accurate. Loads of motocross bikes (handle bars, wheels, bodies) all with different edges and angles were researched to come up with a good crop for this square piece. To begin, colours are roughly splashed on layer after layer and slowly the images starts to take shape with fine details and highly stylized shading. Spending this much time with your art...makes it really hard to hand over when it comes time for delivery!

Appropriately, I get to deliver this piece on Family Day; hopefully adding the icing on the cake to this beautifully designed bedroom and a happy little boy as he moves from his crib to the trendiest room in town!

It's Baby J's Big Day!

Wonder. Dream. Explore.

It is Baby J's big day! He turned a tiny two years old on February 2nd.

To celebrate, Sweet Pea has painted him his very own set of wheels;)

The earthy tones and strong black shading make the image stand out and will prove to be mature enough as he grows into a little man.

Currently, the scroll is hung from a black rod with arrowhead finials and topped off with a blue satin ribbon. However as Baby J grows, the satin ribbon can be replaced with rod brackets fastened directly to the wall.

Wishing him all the happiness & love he brings to his family and many celebrations to come;)

Happy Day, Baby J;)