More Star Ceiling Murals

I have been busy experimenting with those glow-in-dark UV paints so I thought I'd show you a couple of recent effects that I have tried out.





At some point I will have to update my main website with all these new images - I have noticed that there are a lot of companies offering these glow-in-the-dark UV star ceilings so its probably about time I threw my hat into the ring.

Let me know if you have any ideas for a star ceiling effect and I will see if I can paint it & post the picture up here.

DIY SOS

It shouldn't be long now before the DIY SOS program that features Gordon Collett & my good self is finally broadcast - keep an eye on Friday evenings on BBC1. I will let you know as soon as I have a definite date and will fully understand if you would prefer to watch another channel that evening :)

The show was recorded back in March in Gosport, Hampshire. We were brought on-board because we had both worked before with Julia Kendell (the new designer) on three shows for ITV1's "60 Minute Makeover" last year (see my website for more details).

I usually dread watching myself on television - mainly because of my Essex accent and the fact that filming usually coincides with a bad hair day. For most of the filming I probably looked a bit of a wreck but on the plus side I was in very good company.

Glow in the Dark Murals - Star Ceilings (revisited)

As I mentioned in an earlier post I have finally pulled my finger out and painted my son's ceiling with UV glow in the dark stars & planets.

I started at about 8pm last night but didn't actually start painting till gone 10:30 - this is because I have to make sure that any surface that I do not want painted has to be covered.
If you look at the photos you will see that some of the paint is splattered on and this tends goes anywhere & everywhere. All the walls needed to be covered with plastic sheeting & the floor covered with dustsheets.

Once this tricky part is complete the easier & more enjoyable bit of painting the planets & galaxies can begin.



I didn't finish till after 1:00am and went to bed aching & exhausted but I was positively glowing and if my wife had woken up at that point she would have got the shock of her life.

Photographing the ceiling posed another challenge - I set up my camera on a tripod because of the long exposure needed, lined the shot up, charged the ceiling with a UV light and then clicked the shutter the second I turned off the light. I managed to get just two reasonable photos in the end and they still fall far short of the effect of seeing these star ceilings in the flesh.

Now I am thinking of ways I can combine this type of effect with my murals and trompe l'oeil work. If you think of any good ideas let me know.

New Students Work

I thought you all would be interested to see some of the work that my latest students have produced.

The first piece is by my daughter Hannah and depicts her favourite subject matter of blue skies, green meadows & yellow flowers.



The second piece is by my son Adam and is entitled 'Gary'. Anyone who is familiar with 'Spongebob Squarepants' with recognise the famed sea snail in a rather psychedelic portrayal.



I am without a studio at present (due to moving house) so these masterpieces were painted out in the garden using the trellis as a makeshift easel. They also had to be finished in some haste as the weather decided to take a turn for the worse and it has pretty much stayed that way over the last week.

Things are in motion to rectify the studio situation and hopefully I will have something to report soon.

I look forward to continuing my mural & trompe l'oeil classes again as they were extremely enjoyable (not to mention hard work).