Making Walls Disappear

In a heavily juried call for artists, Edwin was recently selected as one of the top 68  artists out of 15,000+ entrants world-wide and his work is now featured on one of the most highly acclaimed art marketing website and blogs in the industry, Artsy Shark.com. Fifty of the artists were named as "Featured Artists" and received a blog article on the site plus a one-on-one mentoring session with the site's founder, Carolyn Edlund.  Edwin and 17 other artists were also chosen as outstanding artists and were featured collectively in an article called "The Creative Process".  You can view the story by clicking on the following link:   the-creative-process This was quite an honor and we just love Artsy Shark and Carolyn for all the work they do and the amazing information the site provides for artists.  

Hi everyone!  Just wanted to write a quick note to tell you about some exciting news we received over the weekend from Artsy Shark.com, one of the premier artist marketing sites on the web.  Once or twice a year they issue a "Call for Featured Artists", where thousands of artists from around the world submit their art for a chance to be featured on this juried site.  (Juried is a term that basically means the artwork is heavily judged/screened by a panel of experts in the art world with very strict standards for acceptance.) Out of all the submissions, only 40-50 will be chosen to be featured artists.   They receive a featured article on themselves and their artwork, as well as one-on-one marketing help from the owner of Artsy Shark. We didn't find out about the opportunity until 2 days before the deadline for submissions, but went ahead and sent in a Ed's work anyway.  Due to the lateness of the submission and lack of time to really prepare a quality packag...

3rd phase of 4 complete - finally!  This job is massive!  A County Cork, Ireland theme that is about 500 ft. long by 20 ft. high but is around the exterior of the casino on 4 sides, all with thick landscaping and ground cover that's like the rock you see at the side of freeways.These rocks are used specifically to deter anyone from walking or thinking of waking on them - check it out some time -   very difficult.  So I'm getting good at not tripping! And where there isn't landscaping or rocks, there are other obstacles and crowds! So I've been doing it early in the mornings, like 3 a.m. to 9 a.m..  It lessens the liability, less people, etc. So here are some pix - I hope you like them!  I hope it's good...I can't tell.  I've been staring at it for weeks.  I need a fresh eye and a couple of weeks away from the project to reset the visual aptitude.  But it photographs well.  What do you think?

Hey, everyone! Check out our new puppy! That's him just back from his morning walk with Ed.  Isn't he cool?  Still tryin' to come up with a good name for him, though.  Any suggestions?  Much love, Lisa &Ed

McCaw School of Mines Mural Check out the completed mural we did last year at the School of Mines.  It goes around the entire building, so there are actually two murals that are 174 ft long. x 5 ft high, and two that are 60 ft long by 5 ft. high.   Ed hopped on his skateboard and filmed some of it.  Pretty cool! Tell us what you think  !!

I've spent some time with Edwin while he has worked on his last several murals, and through observation and questions, have come up with a basic model of what steps he takes when painting a mural. The first thing he does is to sketch out the design in chalk.  Once this is done, he "blocks" (or 3-D's) the different objects in the design.  This is the time when he makes any small adjustments to the approved design in order to fit everything into the allotted space.  This is a very visual part of the work and Edwin views the sketch from different angles and distances to ensure balance and fluidity of the picture. Once the design is sketched out and adjustments made, the next step is to paint in the background around the objects.  It is much easier to do this now rather than after painting in the main elements because you don't have to worry about getting over spray on them, so the picture is much cleaner. At any time during this process, the client is su...

Just recently, Edwin finished a beautiful mural for a client. This is a client whom he had done another mural for about 7 years ago.  In that time, Edwin's phone number had changed, the client had moved to a different home...in other words, they had lost track of each other. So it was a pleasant surprise when he received a message from them via Facebook over the Christmas holidays. They had been trying to find Edwin for nearly 5 years, ever since they had move to their new house. so that he could paint another mural for them.  She wouldn't consider anyone else but Edwin to do this mural for them.  When asked what she would have done if she had never be able to contact him, she simply said she would have just gone without one. Here's a couple of shots of the finished work: The mural wrapped around 3 walls , part of which was behind this really cool winding staircase, so it was certainly fun for him to do! When the job was finished, they ...

Along with his artistic abilities, Edwin has a strong entrepreneurial side, and this has evidenced itself recently with the development of a product and technique that is new to both the retail wall décor industry and to the art world in general. Effectively a new style of trompe-l'oeil, Edwin has coined the term 't rou dans le mur ', (translated from French to mean 'hole in the wall') for this concept that incorporates the existing wall architecturally into the overall design. It consists of 1 to 10+ individual pieces, that when applied to a wall, afford a view as if seen through one or a series of portals (or “holes) through the wall. The spaces around or between the individual pieces are the original wall showing through, and they become as if the actual brick and mortar of the design, framing, if you will, the hole through which the trompe-l'oeil picture is seen. So for the first time ever he is able to produce a product with all the elements of a traditio...

Okay, folks, here's what we'd like to hear from you: 1.  Which of the following are important to you when choosing art/decor for your walls?  You can choose as many as you'd like and you will need to submit your answers via the comments section.  Also, if you have a requirement that is not listed, plese feel free to enter your own.      a)  Price/value                                            e)  Versatility (ie: can arrange several different ways)      b)  Realistic rendering of subject               f)  Can be used in corners      c)  Unique design                                       g)  Artistic - not a picture or computer-generated design   ...

Wall-Ahhh! was finally launched and our on-line store is open for business!  We opened with 30 products in the store, and Edwin is hard at work getting some more ready.  Not only are we offering our breakthrough Wall-Ahhh! designs such as Malibu Breezy and Simply Serene, we are also adding some of our favorite other wall graphics for a bigger variety. Our wall art has a little extra something that you just  won't find on any other site.  (I know, because have looked!)    Just for fun, and because there really isn't a better way to demonstrate the difference, below is a comparison between the different offerings from some of the top wall graphic sites and what we bring to the wall, so to speak.  Check them out and decide for yourselves.  To keep things consistent, the competition will be on the left hand side, and Wall-Ahhh!'s version of the subject will always be on the right. Okay, first up is a  view of Tuscany from a window. ...

As of 10:00 p.m. Friday, 11/13/15, we are officially LIVE with our website.  we can be found at  Wall-Ahhh! website .  Please check us out and tell us what you think!  At the same time we got the website up and running, we also got the online store up. You can reach it through our site or go directly to the store at  http://www.wallahhhstore.wallsmarternow.com And don't forget that anyone who mentions COUPON CODE:   1101WALLAHHH15    gets 15% off any one item in the store plus free shipping! There's still a lot I have to learn about SEO. (Which for those of you who are acronym-challenged like me, stands for Search Engine Optimization.) SEO determines how you are searched and rated in the major search engines like Google, Firefox, & Yahoo just to name a few.  It has so many factors involved, my head is still spinning and I haven't even started with the list of items you have to make sure you have in place.  API credentials, SSL ce...

Edwin and I have been working hard getting everything ready to go live with our website, and finishing up getting the products in our store.  I will keep updates here and on our other social sites.  You can click here. Wall-Ahhh! store on our site wallsmarternow.com  and it will take you directly to the storefront, or just go to the main page at www.wallsmarternow.com once we are up and running. Never realized just how much goes into getting an e-commerce site ready for shoppers!  This is my first excursion into the world of websites, and I really have to admit that even though we ended up getting a WYSIWYG site builder, it still takes a bit of know-how to get things the way you want them. For instance, not really knowing just what each package could do, I figured we could just get the basic builder and if we found out later we needed other features, we would just add them down the road sometime. NOT a very good decision, as I soon came to find out! But after rea...

So sorry I haven't written in a while!  The past several weeks have certainly been busy with our eforts to get Wall-Ahhh! Cool Walls - just like that branded and active as possible on all of the social media platforms. First and foremost, we have been working overtime trying to get our website up and running.  We should be live with it within the week, so a little early heads up:  http://wallsmarternow.com will be our new site, and I will, of course, keep everyone updated on its progress. We now have a presence on the following social media platforms, and as I learn my way around, I will provide links both ways to all of them.  For now, we are listed on them all as mpart2015 or wall-ahhh cool walls.  Check us out on:  Facebook Facebook Page , Linked In LinkedIn , Google Plus Google+ ,  and Pinterest Pinterest  We also have a channel on You Tube. Click here to see all of the videos of the Gordon McCaw Elementary School video. That link is h...

This past week, Edwin was busy finishing up the mural at the McCaw School of Mines, and setting up to start another one at McCaw Elementary school right next door.  I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to catch some of his work on video, so we could all see just what goes into these large scale visuals.  The following video is Day 1:  Sketching out the design, as Edwin begins to sketch out the design for McCaw Elementary School.

Translated from French, trompe-l'oeil (pronounced tromp loy) means literally to 'deceive the eye'.  It is a technique that has been used for centuries that creates the believable illusion of a three-dimensional subject but portrayed on a two-dimensional surface such as canvas or paper. It often gives the appearance of "opening up" or expanding space.  For example, a window or a door that seems to lead to an expanded vista. A Vineyard in Tuscany Doves on Window Sill over Entryway Stairway along the sea  Although it is said to have its origins in the Baroque period, it would be better to say that it  re -emerged during that time, but has been around dating back to the time of Pompeii in Greek and Roman history.  During the Renaissance period, Italian artists were using a type of trompe-l'oeil known as "di sotto en su' (translation:  from below, upward), when doing ceiling painting.  The elements on the ceiling were painted as...

Yesterday Edwin started a new mural at Gordon McCaw Elementary School in Henderson, NV, and I was there to capture some of it on video.  Yes, once again I was up a ladder onto the roof of a building, and for those that know me, this is no small thing.  I've always had a phobia about heights, but yesterday I realized that I was actually doing pretty well with being more than 2 ft. off the ground. Perhaps it's because I was so engrossed with watching Edwin sketch out the basic design for his newest mural!  Whatever the reason, I'm truly grateful that height no longer seemed to bother me, since I plan on filming the entire process and posting it here on our blog so that everyone can see just what goes into making a mural of this size and scope. This is the design that was submitted and approved by the school board, although they weren't particularly happy with the center part of the outline that actually reads The McCaw School since this mural won't be seen from...