DM Design

20% off all of my Picture Mural wallpapers

2016-09-26T03:47:00.001-07:00

Check out my Facebook page as I am offering a discount off all my picture mural wallpapers. Offer ends next week.

Tropical themes and Shadow Wisteria, New Murals in progress

2016-09-25T13:02:00.001-07:00

Lots of updates on my News page of my website

Two new themes I am currently working on for murals. Original on canvas and some ideas for printed wallpapers.

Studio update

2016-03-04T02:37:00.000-08:00

The studio is very busy these days. Currently building collections for various markets and Interior products. As well as adding to the DM signature style for murals.... I am also revisiting my archive and document style of painting which includes, beautiful blooms both chintz like and grand....... not enough hands or hours in the day!

Part 3 Installation and finishing touches to the Polly mural

2016-01-11T08:07:00.001-08:00

The installation took a morning to apply then a further few hours to do the finishing touches

the site

We used clay based adhesive,,, so the mural can easily be removed and re installed at a later date

Needed two of us to work on the project

The finished product ..... before we trimmed and I touched up and worked on the canvas and extended the gold paint.

Completed room...........

Completed mural... however brass light switches were added later.

Part 2... "Polly Mural, from concept to final installation"

2016-01-11T07:55:00.002-08:00

Polly

bottom left of the mural

middle right section

Most of the work on the Polly mural which painted in the studio was fairly time consuming.... I put more detail in to the areas, perhaps more than I would have done if I had painted directly on the wall.

constantly working the two parts together

Completed top area

"Polly's Garden Party " My first Mural on canvas.... from concept to final installation... Part 1

2016-01-11T07:40:00.000-08:00

An extremely long time since I have posted anything on this blog..... the main reason is I have a blog on my website but due to being so busy over the last few months I have just not had a chance to update my website and consequently I am now having problems actually updating the blog and the other pages.
I am not very technical at the best of times so I need to do my homework to bring my website into 2016..... irritated to say the least.
However I thought I would share here the last project I completed at the end of last year.

My "Pollys Garden Party" mural has been painted on to canvas in two parts and applied to the wall using a clay based adhesive. Each piece is 1metre wide and 2.7 metres long. Here are a few photos of the work in progress.

First, a rough sketch to establish layout

After mapping out the layout on the canvas and pencilling in the main motifs, I then mixed the main colours.

Mixing the colours

Then I worked the layout out by pinning on to the wall and applying the large areas of colour

Pinned to wall to paint the larger colour areas

Back in the studio to work on all the areas in greater detail

top and centre of mural

"Chateau Wisteria" Mural, 2015 Interpretation of my "Wisteria Wonderland"

2015-01-29T11:16:00.005-08:00

The Bed Wall... a more stylised version

A silver dragonfly

Ferns and tendrils.. less colours than my Wonderland mural

The dressing table wall... added Willow and Lupins

Both walls

Day 5 of New Wisteria mural... the other wall

2015-01-21T03:00:00.003-08:00

Started on the other wall and decided to add a stylised willow and perhaps a few more lupins.....Next week I shall post the completed pics with the furniture back in the room.....really enjoyed working on a looser technique compared to my earlier detailed floral paintings.

Day 4 Of New Mural...first wall almost complete

2015-01-18T15:05:00.001-08:00

Day 3 of my New Wisteria Mural

2015-01-13T10:01:00.000-08:00

I am back blogging after a very long absence... 2014 was busy building my new studio and some small commissions... now back with some Murals on my "to do" list starting with the completion of the 2nd Wisteria Mural ... watch this space.

New Studio .. Open for Business

2014-10-01T07:14:00.000-07:00

Well!... it isnt totally finished yet but everyone was asking for pics of my new studio so here they are.
Brad built the 5.5 x 4.5 cabin almost single handed and I did all the small parts and the exterior and Interior painting..... What a Labour of Love. I still have to do a large collage to go above the plan chest and some pictures need to be framed for the sitting area and I also have to cover my seats.... the cable need to be joined to the mains but I can get electricity by an extension lead.
We also need to finish the white pebbles and landscaping in the garden.
In the meantime I now have to get back to my Murals and other design and artwork.

Hello ..Still open for business!

2014-09-15T01:27:00.001-07:00

I must take stock today!.....I have spent nearly 4 months building my new studio, decorating and renovating nearly every room in my house and some furniture, planning 3 new Murals and hoping to complete another one I started in June......Oh and I also have a part time job.
I have completely neglected my websites ( my existing one which seems to no longer exist and a new one which needs so much work on it I have not managed to get it live.... and I am paying for the hosting..... Hello!.. I still exist and I am open for business but it looks like the launch of the website with my new products could be much later than planned. If only I could split myself into many parts.
I also apologise for the delay in starting two paintings for my friend, Vivien. Thanks for being so patient.
So today I must hang fire on the completing my kitchen (painting the tiles and cupboards) and sort out my paperwork... make a few phone calls and put a plan of action together!

Sneaky peek, Work in progress.. Day 1 of New Mural

2014-06-10T03:07:00.000-07:00

I know my blog posts are rather infrequent at the moment but I have been busy and pre occupied lately. We get our new studio delivered this week and it comes in a kit form so Brad and I have to assemble it ourselves (scary thought) and I shall be painting it and staining the wood floors as well.....so I think the next few weeks will be a combination of "building, decorating, sorting out furniture and also trying to get my home straight as I currently work from my back bedroom and I cannot wait to get this room clean and organised. Meanwhile I have just started a new Mural which is the "sister" to "Wisteria Wonderland"..... I may have to continue and finish the project later this month but I wanted to get the overall sketch and layout started.

Then when my studio is up and running I shall continue with the new collection of designs I am doing for cushions......... hopefully by then I can be a more regular blogger and share more of my images and work.

Sunflower Sketches....

2014-03-29T08:36:00.001-07:00

It seems a while since I posted anything here on my blog, so I thought that I would share some work that I started last week. A friend wanted me to paint a small picture for his Mother who loves Sunflowers. Many years ago I created a whole Sunflower collection for textiles but I have not painted this flower for ages even though I have a great collection of photographs that I have taken from my garden last year. I decided on a couple of interpretations.... although if I have time I would also like to do another style..... more painterly perhaps? I wasnt sure which would be the most suitable.....what would your choice be?

Calling All Surface Pattern Designers!

2014-03-07T06:14:00.000-08:00

Designs intended for Rotary printing

Designers out there! .... I need some feedback.
For quite some time I have been thinking about offering some private tutorials/demonstrations of traditional hand painting techniques for surface pattern designs, specifically intended for screen printing (flat bed or rotary) I would also concentrate on repeating patterns and working to technical restrictions............ I would only be interested in instructing qualified designers who may have not experienced more traditional methods of design disciplines. What do you think and would there be any interest?

Initial pen sketch concepts for new Mural

2014-03-02T10:22:00.002-08:00

Small Guest Bedroom.....initial ideas for simple handpainted Mural

I have had a "worky" day today.......putting together some initial pen sketches for a potential new mural.....minimal and stylised compared to previous projects.....what do you all prefer?..... I quite like the "Baubles".

Sam and Feline Peacock..nature and bling!

2014-02-24T02:59:00.002-08:00

New framed prints of my originals "Sam" and "Feline Peacock"

Managed to sneak in these two little lovelies for the show tomorrow....Brads framing is fabulous... love all the gold..... I know its the bling in me!........ They are two prints from my original artwork. "Sam" is of course a red squirrel which I am lucky to see here in Northumberland as they are rare in the UK now. The "Feline Peacock is a quirky interpretation of my friends cat Poppy in the centre of the Peacock butterfly which during the summer last year I managed to get quite a few photos of.

Last prep day before the "Meet the Maker" Event

2014-02-21T07:53:00.001-08:00

Getting everything together!

Well before I sign off for the weekend I thought I would share a few photos of this weeks prep work for the trade fair next week....I will have a few sneaky peeks on the day of some of my new designs and product developments..... exciting!.....if you are in the area why not come along. See link to last blog post.

Putting in all the leaflets and business cards in my pack...oh! and a few freebies!

Not the best photo shots I have done... then it started to rain.

New Prints of my originals ... just framed

2014-02-17T04:22:00.001-08:00

Brad has done a wonderful job this weekend framing my prints for the fair next week. I love the black frames and think these pics would look great on a grey or black wall... and the honesty pics would sit in a more rustic environment...love them!

An Invitation to view my New Interior concepts

2014-01-28T01:41:00.000-08:00

While I am working on my new concepts I am also putting a few things together for this local event. A new Trade fair to be held a several venues in Morpeth, Northumberland. If any of you are in the area on the day then why not register here (free) and come along and say Hello and view some of my new work which cannot be viewed anywhere else.

Theme Board 2 Chrysanthemum revisited 2014

2014-01-26T08:49:00.003-08:00

I have had a creative two weeks working on a new collection and while the finished portfolio shall be under wraps. (Trade can view by appointment) I can give you a sneaky peek of some of the inspiration boards that I have put together. I call this Prep work before I start the actual design. The last blog was the first theme which was my original Clematus and this week I can show you another original "Chrysanthemum re visited for 2014" combining other motifs including one my more recent studies of the Honesty plant. I have the colours, miniature layouts with the new motifs and an A3 detail ...all ready to go.
When I have all 5 presentation pieces completed I then can start on my favourite part of the project which is planning out the scaled up layouts for all the various products and painting to finished artwork.
3 more concepts to follow.

Theme board 2014, "Clematus Revisited"

2014-01-15T03:12:00.000-08:00

Well after a week of organising various things I have finally settled down to putting together some theme boards, sketches, colours etc for my new collection. Quite an easy task this week as the typical January weather is keeping me indoors and I am loving working in my little "den" that I call an Artists studio. I have had ideas for new themes for a while now and thinking of these while I was working on my last mural before Christmas. It ocurred to me that some of my previous ideas were still relevant so I decided to revisit several concepts....with a twist of course and colour changes. I think they shall sit quite nicely with the new concepts I have in mind......... a Sneaky Peek here of the first board which is a mixture of my watercolour sketches and photos of mine with the original sketch of the "Clematus Au Chocolat"

Welcome 2014

2013-12-31T08:49:00.002-08:00

I wish a Happy New year to everyone!..... New Year!... New Opportunities!... but most of all Good Health and Happiness xx

2013 was rather mixed for me... but I am really looking forward to the coming year ...

Seasons Greetings

2013-12-18T06:42:00.003-08:00

Before I sign off until the New Year, I thought that I would wish everyone a great Festive break........ A Happy and Healthy Christmas and New Year and I am looking forward to sharing new Art and Design for 2014.

For anyone who cannot wait to see new work you can always log in to the ACID Ltd market place and request an invite for a preview of my 2014 collection. ......

Completed. Passion/Allium Mural.

2013-11-24T09:09:00.002-08:00

Main wall of the en suite....The Passion flower

If you were following my recent "work in progress"..... here is the completed en suite shower room. managed to complete within schedule.....just!

The window wall.... Passion meeting Allium

Above the door and the wall above the basin