Category Archives: Painting

Giggles and polka dots!

Last month I was contacted by Marjorie Simmons about custom mural work for Giggles Ice Cream & Candy Parlour.  She was inspired by the Land of Nod website, a cascading polka dot motif in a rainbow of sorbet colors, and wanted to replicate the look on a few feature walls to give the space a fun, effervescent feel.
First I completed the Grace Bay Ports of Call location, the entire resort and shopping complex has just undergone a bright and cheerful renovation and now Giggles can say the same.

 Giggles will soon be opening it’s brand new downtown location, look for details to come!  This space is much larger and I love the way the mural turned out on these tall walls.

One mother stopped in to see the work in progress and inquired about a kids room.  Absolutely!  There are lots of great ideas for incorporating polka dots in a nursery,
 kids bedroom,
 playroom,
or even furnishings.
You may even find a sleek and sophisticate use for polka dots in your home!

Amazing Grace Waterscape

 “Amazing Grace Waterscape” 2012 copyright Stacie J. Steensland

At the beginning of this year I did a proposal for Amazing Grace, highlighting what a major impact art and accessories could achieve in such beautifully boned home.  We decided on a commissioned painting for the dining room as a takeoff point.  
To begin, I looked at the predominant color palette within the home; seafoam greens paired with oceanic aquas and denim blues.  A touch of lavender greys, and layer after layer of glaze, completed the first stage of the painting (above).
The next step, detail above, was to add silver leafing to add drama and dimension.  

The series of four photographs above demonstrate how the painting looks different from every angle, additionally with various quantities of light, due to the reflective nature of the silver leaf.

The final step was a thick, hyper high gloss top coat, that holds the eternal appearance of looking wet to the touch; the perfect finish for a painting inspired by the sea.  This type of finish adds a whole other dimension to a work of art, a dimension that is next to impossible to portray in photographs.
 

What you see here pales in comparison to what you would see standing before it in person.

I do hope my clients love it as much as I do, my favorite abstract to date!