Wedding Anniversary Signs by Shannon Murray

Introducing my line of fully customizable Wedding Anniversary Signs on wood by Shannon Murray.  There are a lot of decorative signs floating around there these days, but I wanted to do something unique, and personal to the customer.

That's when I came up with the idea for wooden wall plaques for couples celebrating their wedding anniversary with not only their names and wedding date, but also with a unique tree design.

I can use all types of wood (and all sizes). I like to sand the wood so there are no rough edges, and then I like to round the corners.  This way the wood has a really  nice "weathered" look to it, and there aren't any nasty splinters either.

I then like to stain the wood with a dark navy blue color for this batch.  For the surface I pick any paint color I like.  I find duller colors like grayish blues allow the tree colors to "pop."

I have fallen in love with a particular font, and have used that for all the names so far at the top of the signs.  The bottom where the date is located calls for a simpler font.

Each sign and tree is completely unique.  All aspects of each sign are done by hand.

Each sign is personally signed on the back with a painted forest animal.  All signs are sprayed with an ultraviolet resistant spray for protection.  These signs are not intended for outdoor use (unless you are okay with accelerated aging).

Each sign is wrapped in protective bubble wrap, and carefully placed in a box to be shipped directly to the customer.

You can find more on my Etsy shop @:

Pink Forest Calling Etsy Shop by Shannon Murray

~Shannon

Octopus # 4 is complete!

And here are two of his sisters!

perseverance pays

When I first started making art in my childhood and in my teens, I would start and then complete pieces in the same day.  But as I got older I found that sometimes with certain ones you have to live with them for a while to let them evolve. 

This piece called "bird spirit" I started prior to 2009 (prior to CRNA school), I thought I finished in 2012, but in fact I later decided this month to sand the face off and print the original cyanotype face.  I'm so glad I did.  Over the years this piece has evolved so much and now I am FINALLY happy with it.  I got my husband's seal of approval too, which I have to say is very important.  He came to me on his own and told me he had noticed I redid the face and loves it.  He told me it was "done." And not to do anything else to it.  I agree.

Here the piece is when I thought I was finished:

Here the piece is at an even earlier stage:

Here is me working on it this month (March 2013), sanded the face off, and then re-printed the cyanotype face onto the wood:

Here is the finished image, now just waiting to frame this piece.  The face is very subtle, but it emanates a "ghost" presence which is exactly what I had hoped for...

Here are two close ups:

Catnip & 70's Blankets

I felt like I got so much done (exploring & creativity), yet slept in late. I took all three cats outside in the sunny cold and eventually Yum-Yum found the catnip plant. Here are photos of her radical excitement:

  

After they wore themselves out. I found them later all placed tiered....on soft, fluffy 70's Blankets: 

  

And Schmizel discovering the Bulbine earlier in the day:  

Butters interested in the bar-b-q grill:

  I went to a small art festival in the Heights that happens once a month on the first saturday. It's located off 19th street. I wandered through the small 10 x 10 ft booths looking at each artists work. It's an awkward interaction or lack of interaction, walking into each booth, making eye contact with each artists as if non-verbally asking permission to take a glimpse into their world. And if by not showing enough interest, or a lack of questions, or not enough time....do they think that I don't like their work? On each entrance I was the first to say hello, which I thought was very strange, but nevertheless enjoyed my walk through such a varied group of artists and mediums. Next I went to Aurora Studios (also in the Heights). They were having an open house to see all of their artists studios and work. They do this once a month, also on the first Sat. of each month. I was surprised by the rest of such small studios, hardly enough room to do anything in....$300 per month. Again, there was such a range of mediums and techniques. You could see and hear some of the artists talking to various people. They seemed so eccentric, so relaxed. In the distance I could hear soulful, comforting music playing.

  

 I left and as I drove down Aurora street I caught a glimpse of a house I knew I had been to before, so long ago. My memory immediately identified it as a barber shop I had taken my Papa to back in 2000 for a haircut. It seemed to me he had been there before. There was a strange old picture of a little boy in the window with his hair cut that seemed to look as if it was from three decades ago. Today it was still in the window. That day, 13 years ago, we had left the barber shop, and I think the cost of my Papa's haircut must have been like $4 or maybe they didn't even charge him since he was in his 80's and had been going for so long. Afterwards we went to the zoo. I pushed him around in his wheelchair. I'm not sure how much he enjoyed going. So today, this all came back flooding into me in seconds. I snapped this photo, and then as I drove past I could see the barber sitting in a chair in front of the window just staring out.

 

A time for painting

As 2012 draws to a close, I am finishing the year off with the start of a new painting series focusing on octopi. I would say the first image for an octopus painting came to me I believe back in 2009 when I was in CRNA school. I've been waiting since then to create him/her, but it has taken all the way until now.

Here is the first....I call him "Octopus # 1" and he is 39.5 by 35.5 inches. Consisting of a mixture of acrylic & oil paints on wood.

Here are some detail shots....

Next I chose a completely different color palette from how I usually paint and I'm glad I did. I think this one came out great. I love the shimmer of the silver.

"Octopus # 2" 24 by 24 inches, acrylic on birch

Next for "Octopus # 3" I chose pinks & some peach. My favorite things about this one are the background and composition.

"Octopus # 3" 24 by 24 inches, acrylic on birch

And finally here is a picture of me working in my studio art room!

shannonmurrayart.com

shannonmurrayart.com

Today I am launching my new art website called shannonmurrayart.com
After a 4 year hiatus from my art to pursue CRNA school, I am now ready to start making new art and already have! Perhaps as some sort of cathartic organization ritual I felt it was time for a new website. Please check out the link below. Over 250 pieces of mine are displayed on the website.

shannonmurrayart.com