"chair" me up

I love painting chairs!  

They can be a great accent, to any room. No matter what the decor, if you use a coordinating color palette it can be a great way to add a bit of fun.

  

The above picture is the latest chair I had the privilege to redo; but more on that in a minute.

The first chair I ever painted was this one.  It was love at first sight!

 

The reason I love redoing chairs is the great curves, and various shapes that each chair provides.  Its cool how the same two chairs can be completely different by just changing the color combo, or use the same color combo on different chairs and make them match.

  Here are just a few  chair redos that i have done over the years.  Maybe they'll inspire you. 

So, now back to the most current chair.  

Jenny is a fabulous customer of mine.  She allows me great creative freedom in all the projects she hires me to do-LOVE her!  

For this project, she wanted me to paint a chair of hers to match a desk that her friend had painted for her a while back.

She had said it didn't matter if they matched exactly just use a similar color palette, so that's exactly what I did.  

Here they are together

I used Benjamin Moore colors in 

Fernwood Green

Terrapin Green

Magenta

Sundance

White Dove

For more pictures and inspiration please come and find me on Pinterest, Instagram, FaceBook & Twitter

And just a reminder that the Etsy store is closed until Dec 20th so we can get caught up on all of our Holiday orders!

Also, if things weren't crazy enough, we are moving into our new, larger studio Dec 1st!  I am so excited and can't wait to share it with you all!

Another Syracuse University Fan!

Here’s that rocking chair I've been squawking about all over town!  When I picked it up from my friend Karen’s second grade classroom it was, shall we say, in dire need of some lovin’!  Or maybe that was the problem it had been “LOVED” to death. I’m sure it had been in her possession for quite some time, either that or her second graders are a pretty rowdy bunch (which, if you've ever experienced a second grader, you know it's a distinct possibility). So, she contacted me for an upgrade and you all know I never shy away from a good challenge.

Let me tell you something about my friend Karen, she is an avid SU (Syracuse University) fan and every year, without fail, she incorporates "March Madness" into her lesson plans.  Now, most of the time SU makes it into the highly anticipated basketball tournament (most of the time, being the key word here) but that doesn't stop Karen's loyalty. So being the die-hard fan that she is, she wanted the chair to reflect her team spirit. BUT, other than it having the universities colors (orange, blue & white) and the school mascot (Otto the orange guy), she pretty much gave me artistic range.  I absolutely LOVE when people give me artistic range. First off, that word is just sexy to me “artistic range” sounds so chic and sophisticated.  Secondly, I love when people respect my judgment, my work, enough to say, “Hey I trust you. Do your magic girlfriend!” So I did, and this is how it turned out!

I think Karen was very pleased with the end result! She wouldn't even let the kids go near it! Hahaha! We’ll see how long that lasts!  Good thing we’re such good friends-she can always call me for touch-ups!

Here are the next two pieces on the chopping block.  These I got over the summer at a garage sale; $15 for the pair! FANFREAKINGTASTIC! I live for a good bargain.  And the best part of these two pieces is that they are going to be my design choice and my color choice, free artistic range at its finest!

Happy Holidays all! Have a joyous time with your families! I know I will. Peace!

Happy Painting! Mary

I'M BACK, again!

Hey Peeps! I’m back, ya, it’s been awhile, I know.  I've missed you too.  I actually had stopped painting for bit, well, not completely, but it slowed down significantly-LIFE-you all know how that goes. 

Anyhow, I’m back and with a vengeance. I’m painting like a mad woman, well, I guess I’m always painting like a mad woman, but this time I swear! I also went back to my business name, prior to changing it-BIG mistake there-lesson learned, so I'm sticking with The Decorative Paintbrush...

I've also started writing another blog; it’s called The Syracuse Art Scene.  It’s all about the goings on in The Syracuse Art Community-okay, not EVERYTHING, but things I find interesting.  If you have a moment maybe you’d like to check it out, perhaps follow along?  

I've also opened a new Etsy store too.  “Oh, Mary! How exciting!” You scream rather loudly!  I would bat my eyes and sheepishly reply, “Why yes. Please take a look!”  Hahahaha! Okay, we aren't that corny, right?  But really check it out-there’s some new things and some standard favs.  I’m going to be adding a whole new line of canvas work too, so be looking for that notice on my Face Book page. “What? You didn’t know I had a Face Book Page! Well today’s your lucky day, I’m including a link (several actually)!” 

I’m very excited to be back, painting, creating-it’s when I feel most alive. I don’t know about you…but I am sooooo ready to put 2012 behind me.  I’m anticipating 2013 to be a VERY innovative, creative and productive year!  So, let’s get this party started shall we!

Okay, enough shouting from the roof tops, onto my latest piece!  It’s actually a two parter.  I had a client who gave me two gently used stools. She wanted them to be transformed.  She intended to put them into her “Man Cave” as her son called it. She wanted them sporty, yet fun for the kids.  They came to me looking like this…

 Yep, that's my crazy studio in the background.  Please excuse the mess...Okay, not going to lie, it's never clean :D Let's face it the only clean & pristine studio's you'll see are ones where there isn't a lot of creating going on inside-are ya with me!

Now, these chairs left looking just a bit different! One chair was done in a Dallas Cowboys theme-the other a Syracuse University theme.  These are the pictures of The Cowboys chair. Tomorrow I’ll show you the SU one. Enjoy!

Happy Painting! Mary    

Get 'R Done

Hey Everyone! Yep, it's me! Long time no see, lol! As a lot of you, my life has been crazy busy. I have been so busy in fact, I had to shut down my Etsy store temporarily just to get caught up on orders and create inventory for the two upcoming shows we have in July.  Plus, just to mix things up a bit, I'll be starting a new job as a Kindergarten Teacher (at a private school) next week.  Don't worry though, I'll be doing MOLLICArt on the side. I know, you're laughing at me! "On the side" you say! But really, I love these projects and NEED to do them, you know what I'm saying people, so giving it up, would actually be bad for my health. I've got to keep plugging along-I've gotta just, "Get 'R Done!

Which leads me to my latest custom project....This was a custom order for two really cute little kids, who are absolutely MAD for John Deere!  I created a pink and floral one for the little girl Emma...

and a green, traditional one for Joey!

Then there wonderful Aunt, decided to have me design a small purse & briefcase to match.  Emma loves her dog Minnie, so her purse was adorned in doggy designs and Joey's briefcase, ALL JD!

Well, this was a short one, but we still have a lot going on else where.  Come find us on Pinterest or follow on our Facebook pages; MOLLICArt or The-Decorative-Paintbrush so you don't miss all our comings and goings! In the midst of all this hulabloo, I'm painting the living room (hot pink), the hallway (lime-green stripes) and turning the steps into a funky piece of art work-so stay tuned!

 Thanks again for always sticking with me.  

Happy Painting,

Mary