WELCOME GREEN DIVA LISTENER’S

(Photo:-Image from The Green Diva Radio show)

 

I am a GA Radio correspondent for The Green Divas radio show out of New Jersey all things Green.  I want to thank Megan Mc Williams for giving me this opportunity to share all things Green and sustainable from an artist perspective from the GA Peach State!  Please listen in every Saturday from 10-11 am eastern time they are grate Divas with a lot of information. On WMTR 1250AM. 

I talked about green paints that I love to use.  I'm always doing research, as an Eco artist it is very important to me to use the best materials out there that won't affect my health in the process of creating and designing and for my clients.  I have them listed here on my blog in the Green Resource section.  

I love to test products to see if they really do what they say they will; so if they are good, have a good rating for green than they will be on this blog and Facebook page.  I will continue to add more web sites that I truly feel are worth your time and investment in an effort to go green and live a sustainable lifestyle. 

I have been very busy the last two months.  Getting my daughter ready for college a very emotional but joyous event.  I'm so proud of my Katie.  You Rock!

 

I have been working on a project with the children of Rainbow Village for their upcoming Gala October 22, which helps raise funds for their organization and awareness to the needs of displaced families.  Please visit the link for more details on their organization. http://rainbowvillage.org/

I have also been working on a fun tapestry 19x53 for a client out of Rhode Island with combinations of beautiful purples and slivers.  I had so fun much painting it.  She should be receiving it today can't wait to see pictures of it.

Well it is a beautiful day today here in GA just love the crisp weather.  I plan on having me a hot cup of herbal tea and work on finishing some Christmas theme boxes for the Rainbow Village Gala. They are turning out just beautifully.

Remember Going Green doesn't have to be a chore small changes make a difference that can contribute to your health and environment.   

Best Wishes

DIY Painting Tile Tutorial

Oasis Gold Natural Tumbled Stone

Standard white Ceramic Tile

I have been busy preparing for a tile mural and thought it would be great to share the process with you and walk you through it in case you wanted to try it for yourself at home.

Traditionally decorative tiles for back splashes are painted with baked on enamel paints, or fired in a kiln.  I at present don’t do either.  As an Eco Artist I prefer to stay away from toxic paints and conserve power as much as possible. 

I use non-toxic acrylics and patio paints and I use several kinds of sealers that are non-toxic and also work with tile products used for the installation process.

I work with 4x6, 6x6, 8x8 and larger size tiles depending on the job or commission I'm working on for a client.  I use natural stones here are a few I hand paint on:

• Tumbled Botticine Marble
• Travertine
• Chiaro
• Gold
• Slate
• Standard Ceramic Tile

 I use new and recycled tile, most recycled tile I usually can get from contract sites or left over tiles from a completed job.  Flea markets are my best sources for finding tile that would other wise be discarded I have a lot fun hunting these out at yard sales and flea markets. 

For this tile project that I will be painting I will be using standard glazed white tile that you can purchase at any home improvement store.  I’m still working out of a large bin of recycled tile I purchased at a flea market; most of the tile is in great condition.  The sizes of the tile I will be working with are 4x4. These tiles have a glaze to them which will need to be removed.

I will be using a total of 9 4x4 standard white glazed tiles if you can find them unglazed that is great if not you will need to purchase a bottle of Armour Etch glass etching Cream that you can purchase at Hobby Lobby or Michaels Craft Store a 10 oz bottle of this product will do. You will need gloves for this.  This will be the only semi toxic part of the process in prepping the tile to receive any kind of paint.

The finished tile mural will measure 13x13.  I will be installing my mural unto plywood and than hung on the wall but it can be installed unto your wall as any standard tile would.

In my next blog entry I will walk you through the process of prepping your tile, picking your design, placing it on your tile and painting as well as a  list of paints, brushes, how to seal your mural everything that you will need to start and finish your project. 

  

Tile Work And My Eco-Friendly Process



Tile ready for first coat of varnish

  
There are many methods to preparing and painting tile.  I use various methods including using an electric kiln but I avoid doing so whenever possible unless a customer just has to have their tile painted and fired in that way. 

To conserve energy and avoid toxic hazards to myself due to my immune problems, I prepare and paint my tiles with eco-friendly paints and varnishes.  I use acrylic paints as well as glazes that do not have high toxic ratio that I can work with in my home studio. I don’t breath anything that is harmful to me.  With acrylic paints I don’t have to use a Kiln. I also use thermo-heated glazes that require 30 minute heating time in a small oven.

My tiles that are painted using acrylic paints can still be used for your backsplash in kitchens and bathrooms.  After several coats of sealers of two different sealants and curing time these tile are than ready to go. You treat them just like you would glass tile. Protect the design with wax paper, adhere to your surface, set, clean, let dry and you are done.



Painted with thermo heated glazes not toxic

I have painted the tile you see here with acrylic paints and varnished them as described.  I added natural cork to the backs and these tiles are used as tile coasters.  These are standard 4x4.   I have recycled these tiles from a yard sale two huge bins from an unfinished job.  These were ready to be thrown out! What a crime I say!!!  Here I put them to good use.  I plan on painting more tile coasters and will also be painting some tile murals that will be retailed in my shop and I have a project for a mural tile for my own kitchen.

Ready for natural cork backings



Ready to go into someones home



Journey Of A Cotton Canvas



background color added and design transferred

I have finished painting one of ten tapestries.  After painting the 100% cotton duck canvas with a background color and transferring design, I started painting and finished my first songbird.  This is a series that I'm painting.  I plan on painting them unto boxes and canvas as well.  Here I'm using all eco-friendly materials as always, 100% cotton canvas, acrylic paints no need for varnishes.

After I allow the canvas to air dry and cure for a day or two I will heat set the canvas, iron press it take a product shot and download it to my ETSY Shop.  The canvas tapestries are already hemmed and ready to hang.

 

Oh the little details, patience, patience...



You can almost hear the birdie sing on such a cold night in GA



Finished tapestry 13x19



Baby Blue Tit

Now I have to give my back a rest and visit my physical therapist!! This type of  work affects my chronic pain, but I love to paint. Physical therapy and message and a lot of praying keep me going to continue to enjoy what I love. I usually work on several paintings in a day and throughout the week from canvas, fabric, tile etc.each one are in different stages.

Next post I will share some of my tile work.  Hope to hear from you,  I welcome your comments.

Best Wishes and happy painting

Painted Tile

 

Tiles ready to be shipped to N.J.

 

I have finished painting several tiles as coasters, I have shipped this set you see out to New Jersey and another set of abstract flowers has been sold here in McDonough GA.  I'm sticking to my eco-friendliness; I'm using acrylic paints and non-toxic sealers on these standard tiles you can find at any home improvement store.  I have painted these tiles to be used as coasters, they can also be used just has decorative tile on an easel but can also be used for your back splash.  They would need to be varnished several more times and cured longer before using for that kind of application.


I'm also busy priming boxes, and heavy canvas for tapestries.  I will be painting nature scenes of birds and butterflies on the tapestries. The boxes I have primed will be painted with butterflies that I took pictures of this summer.  I had an abundance of swallowtail this year in my yard they were just so beautiful to look at.  I was so happy they posed long enough for me to take pictures of them.     I will be posting those in the next few days. 

Painted with acrylics & sealed with non-toxic sealers

 I also plan on doing fine paintings on canvas as well from the photos I took which have been several from my local botanical garden and Callaway Garden which is a butterfly garden here in GA.  I have a lot of sorting to do with the pictures and decisions to make about backgrounds,perspective etc., my goal is to publish a calendar and new set of note cards with the  pictures I took and paintings I'm currently working on from them.
 

A happy customer in McDonough, GA has a set of six abstract flowers coaster tiles



Eco-Friendly Paints

Hi everyone,

It's been a while since my first post! Sorry about that, it got rather busy around here with commission pieces I have been working on, which I will post on next week, as well as prepping,priming, sketching and getting new product ready for the holiday season for my web site.

My daughter Katie is a senior this year and we have been busy with the BIG college decisions as well, we visited Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA (SCAD) and we are hooked.  So the process of application has already begun, soon I will be experiencing the empty nest syndrome.  I will have to keep myself very busy painting or either apply to college myself.  

This week I wanted to share with you some products I have used and still continue to use in my painting process.   Due to my ongoing health problems and having to keep my home and work environment as clean as possible and odor and toxic free, I researched several paint companies to find what I could use.  There are many low voc' paints out there that you can purchase at your local home improvement stores, but the companies I site here I use on a regular basis and I have used on the walls in my home and have been extremely happy with these products.

So here they are:  The Earth Pigment Company offers natural earth and ocher pigments.   They are all environmentally safe non-toxic and very easy to use.  You can paint your homes with them; create your own oils, watercolors, temperas, pastels, gesso's, and caseins if you like to go that route. 

I also like to use Real Milk paint from the Real Milk Paint Co. Another paint company I go to is Mythic the colors are just gorgeous. I use these for very large projects and painting furniture to give them a good base to work with before doing all the decorative artwork on them with the other paints I use as well.

I have listed the web sites to these on favorite and helpful site section.  Hope you visit the sites and take a look at what they have to offer, you will be quite happy with the products and the quality and how much you can do with them. 

I plan to post on the blog once a week to share all the new projects and pictures I’m working on and share any sites that I find relevant to my quest of being Eco-friendly that may be useful to you.  I also added a Quote of the week section for inspiration.  We all need inspiration to keep us going.

Until than my friends, Happy Painting and stay healthy!!!