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This year has been difficult for business but I am starting a new and exciting phase to my life. I am going to back to school to get my RN in Neonatal. It's something I began when my youngest was born and now I have the chance to do it again. So I am going for it and doing the art parttime. Art is a part of me and will always be. This way I can choose the work I want to do and focus on things I like and not do it for the money. Money is not a bad thing but boy would I like to not worry about it. So my world begins on Aug 22. And all the while, I am still plugging away at paying the bills and creating something cool to look at.

New Shop Artwork

This week I painted in Old Town Sharpsburg for a lovely woman,  Susan, opening up a handmade children's items  boutique called Toodles. It's amazing to see the cute and creative things people come up with. I painted the sign for over the doors interior and the mural in the back near the nursery area. The building is so extremely old and used to be a general store for the little town. It still has the running ladders on each side to access the long-ago-removed shelving for the general store. The walls are old brick and the back door is like that of an old cotton gin. No running water and no restrooms. The only restrooms in town are at the recreation center as all the buildings are antiques.
The shop opens in August due to a filming company utilizing the space for a few episodes of a television program- I don't know which one.  The mural is of Velveteen Rabbit meeting Peter Rabbit as he gathers radishes. Looks like it came right out of a storybook page. I tried to use lime green and raspberry as much as I could to match the future  shop decor colors. A few more accents need to be made but that might have to wait for after filming or maybe just next week!.


And after meeting  with a past client that has become a member of my family, I again get to paint in her beautiful home for her daughter. We will be taking some scrapbooking ideas and bringing them to life on the wall. I think it will be so fun to look at when finished for this teenager client!

And a follow up note on the wonderful paint used for striping ---- well the representative at the paint shop was most gracious in reimbursing me totally - covering the extra time and supplies needed to repair. He didn't even squirm on what I think was a defective paint or paint mixing so that was a plus !  Although I am completely over painting stripes for the rest of my life !

The day after

So.... with the advice of a salesman, I used what we all thought would be the strongest paint to use to stripe lines on some indoor/outdoor carpeting using a spraygun. Unfortunately, all the work ( in no less than 17 hours in 95^ heat ) began chipping off the surface like powder!  Yesterday was spent repainting the entire area by hand w a paintbrush and different paint . So what is the day like after you spend another nine ours bent over painting stripes on the floor by hand?  SORE !!!!

Still plugging away

So yes still plugging away at getting work for painting. I must say that although I enjoy using my airbrush for the effects it can give, I can see that parts of the airbrush service industry I don't think I am a great candidate. I am a bit impatient on waiting for some aspects of airbrushing- I am so used to the paintbrush for the last 30 years and I can get things done more quickly with my brush where I have to change colors , clean and so on and so on with my airbrush. My paintbrush is an extension of my fingers where the airbrush is still a machine in my fingers. I am having to use paints that thin with different mediums and that too can get hairy when changing colors. (Sometimes you gotta use what you have on hand.)

And on a different note, I must say a big stinking thank you to this economy. It after 30 years is killing my customers. I have lots of experience and skill when it comes to painting, but in the scheme of important items in this life, the opportunities to bring art to my customers, is growing thin. I'll never give my art up, but I don't enjoy taking jobs that I wouldn't consider for my expertise or skill. Still gotta pay bills. I just don't want to hate waiting and then rushing through the work just to get to the next paycheck. And lately the Georgia heat is terrible this year making any outside work, miserable, time consuming and unhealthy.

So - patience grasshopper! Adapt and overcome and I am doing just that.

Airbrushing

Well I am hitting the road again this  Saturday and headed to Buford Athletic Fields.Airbrushing helmets is the plan for Saturday. I am hoping I get enough orders to pay for my gas this week. I enjoyed the little spending time with my brother and sister in law which is never enough since I live on the other side of the state from them, but the two days so far has not brought as much interest in my services as the director of the BAA would have liked.  Hopefully Saturday will be different. It will be the last day that I will be painting helmets for a long while. I enjoy interactng with the people and the kids, but I would rather make a little money while doing it also.

Meanwhile, today I go finish up the box truck that I have been working on for HogWild. I will be glad to get out of the hot sweaty sun for a while.  Georgia heat and humidity makes me hair cringe !

Reduced Pricing ! or Does that make it less valuable?

How can I say this? I am hating this economy- yeah, aren't we all?  It's affecting me more than I would like to admit but it's reality- I guess. I must be in denial- yeah - that's it- yeah !
So I am for a limited time, reducing my prices to help deal with it. 

You know , there is a conflict about this ( reducing prices) when it comes to the mind of an artist, at least that's what most artist will say. If you reduce your prices, then you reduce the value of your art. Is that true? At least when it comes to doing murals? It's not like you can pick up your mural and take it with you and you certainly can't resell your mural. So does that theory still apply?  Even with canvas and other artwork, is the artwork valuable is nobody buys it? I don't want to have to kick the bucket to raise the value of my paintings. That's a horrible imposition that I'm being put it to. ( LOL- JK)

So it's not a bad thing , I think and it doesn't devalue my work. I would rather to see it as allowing more people to afford to have murals in their homes. Hopefully it may keep me busy enough so I don't have time to clean !
yeah - that's it- yeah !

Children's Murals Video

May 25-  RepettoStudios Video- Children's Mural  -

 

I have collected some photos from some of my completed children's rooms including those for nurseries, boys, girls, playrooms, and more. Alot of nurseries can be done in one day and even simple accents can make a big difference.  What is fun, is to go back to those rooms after awhile and see what I've done. Some of the children I have done a number of times. It's always a pleasure to see how the kids have grown.

You know, when I do a mural, especially for children, I get to meet the kids and get to know them so it's like becoming part of the family. That's also why I like doing schools - it brings you in touch with those ages and their 'wonderment'. Kids love art and murals and makes them appreciate the arts and what it can do for them. It let's them express themselves in another outlet (that they have control of). It gives them a sense of accomplishment on their own terms.Wow, I can stay on this subject forever.....

On a side note- the arts including music help develop those ever present synapses in the brain (especially at an early and late stages of life) With art, the brain learns how to connect those synapses for at least 4 actions simultaneously while music develop 7 actions.  Art appreciation and study is worth it. It your child is having trouble in school, add art and music to their curriculum and you'll see a difference.


Meanwhile...if you have an idea for a room , please contact me and let's talk about what we can do with your space. I am very conscious for those who have a budget, we can work around that as much as possible.
Please contact me at 404-550-0521 or email me some photos and your idea to laurierepetto@gmail.com

Welcome to An Artist's Life

Welcome to what I hope will be an amazing ride in the life of a professional sometimes struggling artist. With this blogsite and the combination of my website maybe I can mesh the two together. But I haven't been very loyal to my own site, so I am hoping that this will make it easier to accomplish more of a presence. With a variety of services, I am called in many different directions- from working with school systems and individual schools to corporate clients to individuals and homeowners. No medium is off limits.... so here we go !






May 23- Hogwild of Temple.net-
I am back again working on the box truck for Temple's Hogwild Motorcycle. It will used for all kinds of advertising for myself and for HogWild of course. It is supposed to coincide with the theme that the store centers around- Old West and everything Motorcycles. The store and gathering place is remodeling to resemble an old west time period and a place for those needing parts or service to just sitting down after or before a ride and enjoying the company and a few beverages. It is supposed to look like an old woody car with a little information. Check out the hog's head. They actually have a stuffed one inside the bldg. I have recently worked on the outside of the building to transform it also and renewed their logo for better appeal. What do you think ?

 
















May 19 and 20- Coca-Cola Ideation- Sparkling Innovation Summit - I joined Steve Stanley, Lin Workman , Kevin Williams (without Muley the Mule), Gregg Hughes, and Trevor Hawkins- as illustrators for some creative thinking at the Melia Hotel in Atlanta. 

It was good fun to hangout and do some quick draw ! 

It always good to be a part of a group of artists that have the same interests and to meet new ones. You should check out their work when convenient. We are all so different yet somehow so same.  Hotel was elegant and our hosts of course do nothing short of superb ! Thanks again Steve, Keith and John !





May 2 and 3 -  New Again Resurfacing-  I never thought about painting on a cast iron tub before but why not? Since I had the chance with Glenn Grimm and his company, I went for it. I used my automotive paints and airbrush and replicated the San Jose Sharks logo for his son Thomas. The company uses the tub for display for tradeshows and for advertising.  They are also for sale - located in Villa Rica at 770-456-2806. They resurfacing bathtubs, countertops and do carpet cleaning.

April 11- 1998 Jeep Wrangler with White Tiger- Airbrush

I am partnering with Ken Speers Body and Paint ( 404-425-0525) for my base coats and clear coats and together with produced this beautiful black hood on a refurbished 1998 Jeep Wrangler. The artwork is a White Bengal Tiger ripping through the metal. The idea was to make the tiger white and a part of the jeep but with blue piercing eyes. You can see the metal as it has a shine and is torn or ripped along the side of the tiger opening. It was beautiful but it was sold ( and I don't have the name of the new owner- uggghh)