I have the greatest customers in the world. I have truly enjoyed meeting and working with all, except for one (who, after having me fly out to Houston, rent a car, get a hotel room and then paint a huge room for him... he gave me a bad check, that he knew was no good. But, I guess that I really don't consider him a true customer). So, I still say that I have the best customers anywhere.
However, there are those that I seem to feel an even greater degree of respect for... they are those who have, and are still, serving our country in the armed forces. They are giants in my eyes and I am honored to be able to share my talents with them.
But, I am even more honored when, as if doing the work for them wasn't enough, they write to me and tell me what they think of my mural... and what it's does for them.
Let me share a couple of the ones that I have received.
"I have read a couple reviews about your company, Night Sky Murals, and it seems that everyone that has written a review has had the same problem that I have, as none of them come close to an accurate description of the majestic visual experience you get by simply walking into a room.
In a previous occupation I spent hundreds of nights per year under the stars, (as a Navy Seal) and the mural on the ceiling brings back some of my favorite memories. I can't believe how real it looks. It's just like the most majestic, perfect night sky. Everyone that sees it gets lost in the thousands of stars that are there and it seems as though you can keep looking deeper and deeper into space the longer spend in the room.
The amount of time and attention that was spent to create this inexpressible product makes it worth every penny. We will have you back to create more of your magic very soon. Thank you for everything!"
No... thank you for everything! It's a pleasure.
Now from the second great American... who wrote to agree with what a couple of other Navy servicemen had written about their murals.
"Jeff, as a Navy vet myself (Destroyer Squadron 10, USS Spruance DD 963), I can also attest to what was said by Jason and the Navy Seal. A moonless night sky from a darkened ship in the middle of a pitch dark ocean is truly spectacular!. I recall especially the stunning, crystal-clear skies north of the Arctic circle.
I suppose it's not possible, but I wish I could find a spot reasonably close to home with a view something like those. Maybe farther out in the country on a secluded mountain top...
But, come to think of it though, the mural that you painted in our home gives us a beautiful and inspiring view without even needing to leave the house."
What can I say? I am humbled and grateful that the memories, I had a small part in helping to bring back to all of you, were good ones. May you have many more!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Friday, December 10, 2010
Night Sky Murals through the eyes of an insomniac...
Jim had the hardest time falling asleep. And, he'd tried everything he could think of to help his situation. He'd seen doctors, tried medicines, listened to music, watched videos and TV, counted sheep... EVERYTHING!!! But nothing seemed to help. He still tossed and turned for hours before he could fall asleep.
He ran a ranch, so an exhausted body wasn't the problem. He did say that some of the medications that the doctors gave him helped a little... but it was usually about breakfast when they seemed to kick in. So, that was out.
He bought a hot tub to soak in, thinking that would relax him. It seemed to work some... but not enough to put him to sleep before his normal 2 hour toss-and-turn routine was up.
He told me that he'd drag his tired body into bed at 10 PM every night and that he'd be up at 5 AM the next morning. The problem was that even though he was in bed at 10 AM... it would still be midnight before he could finally fall asleep. But, if he were to wake up to use the restroom or go on a late night run to the refrigerator... he was back into staring into the black ceiling again for at least an hour to an hour and a half. He was exhausted. And, since he ran a ranch... it wasn't like he could just lock his office door and take a catnap during the day. The poor guy was at wits end.
That's when he called me. Not so much as another "remedy" to try to get him to sleep, but more as something to look at while he was waiting to drift off. Before I went out to California to paint the mural for him... he told me how much he loved the night sky and how he loved to lie down on his deck during the summer evenings, way back in the hills where the ranch was located, and just stare, in awe, into those incredible night skies that they have out there.
So, we worked out the details and before long I was on a flight out to California to give the poor guy something to look at during the night, instead of just a dark void above his head at night.
Since I usually paint during the day, I blackened out his windows and got to work while he was out riding the fence line... or rustling cattle. You know I never did really get what it was he said he did.
Well, I finished up at around 4 PM and it wasn't long after that that he walked in to see how things were going. It was perfect timing since I had just finished putting away my paints and brushes. I told him to sit on his bed in the dark, while I took my equipment back out to the car, so that his eyes could adapt to the dark. Remember that he'd just come in from outside and there's no way that he'd be able to see what I'd just painted right away. It's kind of like when you go to a movie in the middle of the day (OK, who does that?) and you walk into the theater after the movie's already started. You know what I'm talking about... like when you have to stand there for a few minutes, while your eyes adapt to the dark, so that you can actually sit in an empty seat instead of someone's lap?
OK, so that was the situation. He sat there on his bed while I finished cleaning up. Then, once I thought his eyes were good and ready, I had him close his eyes and I turned on the black light for a few minutes so the paint could charge up a little. Then, I turned out the lights and had him open his eyes. Silence! Deafening! I thought.. "Oh crap, I just flew out here to paint a mural for this guy and he doesn't like it." That's what I was thinking because for at least 30 seconds he didn't say a thing. Finally, he broke the dreadful silence. He finally said, "This is the most incredible thing that I have ever seen! How did you do this? This looks just like the night sky that I lay on my deck during the summer evenings to look at. HOW? How did you do this?"
Now, this was a tough cowboy saying this to me and I thought that he was about to cry. So, I bit my lip so I wouldn't start cracking up in his face if it got too emotional in there... but luckily for me, it didn't (Just a quick note... I have had people cry when I've shown then their mural for the first time... and to me it is one of the best testimonials that I can get... so don't get me wrong. It's just that this was a manly man... and I wasn't expecting that from him). Well, as I was cleaning the blood from my now bleeding lip (from biting it so hard) I answered his questions and pointed out the constellations that were in the sky. He told me how the Milky Way added an extra degree of 3D to the mural... and then finished with him telling me that he wanted another room painted when it was remodeled.
It was about 4:30 by now and I headed over to the little cabin that was on the property, which is where I got to stay while there. I changed clothes and headed down to the beach for a couple of hours, watched the sunset, ate some fish and chips (nothing like 'em when they're fresh) and then headed back to crash. I was dead tired.
I was sitting on the deck in the front of the cabin the next morning at about 8 AM when one of the ranch hands came by and asked if I had seen Jim? I told him that the last time I'd seen him was at about 5 PM the night before and I was headed to the beach. Then he told me that they hadn't seen him since about 6 PM the previous night and that he hadn't met them that morning as usual... and that they had looked everywhere. His car was still parked in it's usual place and his horse was still in it's stall, so they were concerned. It wasn't like Jim to not be the first guy up and ready to work in the mornings. By this time there were 4 or 5 others who had been out looking for him and we were all standing around wondering what to do. They were actually about to call the police when out wanders Jim at about 8:30.
These ranch hands just stood there staring at their boss with nothing to say. Jim saw everyone at the little cabin and walked over to us. Then, one of the guys asked him where he'd been? He just looked at me and said, "Blame him!" Now, I'm thinking, "What? I've been sound asleep all night, don't look at me!" But, he quickly finished the rest of the story. He said, "It was that mural. After you left last night, I finished up a few things that I had to do and then at about 6 PM, I went back into my room to look at the mural again. I laid down on the bed and as I let my eyes adjust to the dark... the stars started to pop out a few at a time, until the entire ceiling was covered. Then the Milky Way came into view. I just lay there looking at that scene... and before I knew it I was out cold. It wasn't until about midnight that I woke up, fully dressed, to use the restroom. Then I grabbed a bite to eat and went back and got into bed again. I stared into the stars again for maybe 15 minutes and I was out again. It was amazing! And, I just woke up about 15 minutes ago!"
He then said that he hadn't slept like that in years and he couldn't believe what he'd done. Well, neither could the other guys who were standing there because they knew how hard it was for him to sleep. Now, I had left the black plastic up on the windows the night before because he'd told me that he might want to go back in and look at it again for a minute... so that may explain why he slept through his normal time to wake up at 5 AM when the sun started to lighten the eastern sky. But still... that was about 14 hours that he'd slept and nobody could believe it. He did write a few weeks later, after he'd been able to get used to it... and he told me that he was able to go to sleep in about 30 minutes now... and if he'd wake up during the night, he no longer worried about falling quickly back to sleep. He was very grateful for the unexpected result that the mural had on him... but he still joked about falling asleep at 6 PM that first night, in his clothes, without eating dinner and without any trouble.
I guess he had a lot of years of sleep to catch up on.
One last little note. Now I'm no expert, but I wonder if many people have trouble falling to sleep because their minds are racing with thoughts of the day that just finished, of bills, of kids, of things they need to do the following day... or whatever? And maybe, because they have nothing else to focus on, but a black void above their heads... there is nothing to take their minds off of all of those things. Who knows? But this I do know... there is a former insomniac, on a ranch, in a small town in California... who now has a problem staying awake at night and then waking back up again in the morning. He now looks forward to going to bed when the day is done... where he used to dread it.
He ran a ranch, so an exhausted body wasn't the problem. He did say that some of the medications that the doctors gave him helped a little... but it was usually about breakfast when they seemed to kick in. So, that was out.
He bought a hot tub to soak in, thinking that would relax him. It seemed to work some... but not enough to put him to sleep before his normal 2 hour toss-and-turn routine was up.
He told me that he'd drag his tired body into bed at 10 PM every night and that he'd be up at 5 AM the next morning. The problem was that even though he was in bed at 10 AM... it would still be midnight before he could finally fall asleep. But, if he were to wake up to use the restroom or go on a late night run to the refrigerator... he was back into staring into the black ceiling again for at least an hour to an hour and a half. He was exhausted. And, since he ran a ranch... it wasn't like he could just lock his office door and take a catnap during the day. The poor guy was at wits end.
That's when he called me. Not so much as another "remedy" to try to get him to sleep, but more as something to look at while he was waiting to drift off. Before I went out to California to paint the mural for him... he told me how much he loved the night sky and how he loved to lie down on his deck during the summer evenings, way back in the hills where the ranch was located, and just stare, in awe, into those incredible night skies that they have out there.
So, we worked out the details and before long I was on a flight out to California to give the poor guy something to look at during the night, instead of just a dark void above his head at night.
Since I usually paint during the day, I blackened out his windows and got to work while he was out riding the fence line... or rustling cattle. You know I never did really get what it was he said he did.
Well, I finished up at around 4 PM and it wasn't long after that that he walked in to see how things were going. It was perfect timing since I had just finished putting away my paints and brushes. I told him to sit on his bed in the dark, while I took my equipment back out to the car, so that his eyes could adapt to the dark. Remember that he'd just come in from outside and there's no way that he'd be able to see what I'd just painted right away. It's kind of like when you go to a movie in the middle of the day (OK, who does that?) and you walk into the theater after the movie's already started. You know what I'm talking about... like when you have to stand there for a few minutes, while your eyes adapt to the dark, so that you can actually sit in an empty seat instead of someone's lap?
OK, so that was the situation. He sat there on his bed while I finished cleaning up. Then, once I thought his eyes were good and ready, I had him close his eyes and I turned on the black light for a few minutes so the paint could charge up a little. Then, I turned out the lights and had him open his eyes. Silence! Deafening! I thought.. "Oh crap, I just flew out here to paint a mural for this guy and he doesn't like it." That's what I was thinking because for at least 30 seconds he didn't say a thing. Finally, he broke the dreadful silence. He finally said, "This is the most incredible thing that I have ever seen! How did you do this? This looks just like the night sky that I lay on my deck during the summer evenings to look at. HOW? How did you do this?"
Now, this was a tough cowboy saying this to me and I thought that he was about to cry. So, I bit my lip so I wouldn't start cracking up in his face if it got too emotional in there... but luckily for me, it didn't (Just a quick note... I have had people cry when I've shown then their mural for the first time... and to me it is one of the best testimonials that I can get... so don't get me wrong. It's just that this was a manly man... and I wasn't expecting that from him). Well, as I was cleaning the blood from my now bleeding lip (from biting it so hard) I answered his questions and pointed out the constellations that were in the sky. He told me how the Milky Way added an extra degree of 3D to the mural... and then finished with him telling me that he wanted another room painted when it was remodeled.
It was about 4:30 by now and I headed over to the little cabin that was on the property, which is where I got to stay while there. I changed clothes and headed down to the beach for a couple of hours, watched the sunset, ate some fish and chips (nothing like 'em when they're fresh) and then headed back to crash. I was dead tired.
I was sitting on the deck in the front of the cabin the next morning at about 8 AM when one of the ranch hands came by and asked if I had seen Jim? I told him that the last time I'd seen him was at about 5 PM the night before and I was headed to the beach. Then he told me that they hadn't seen him since about 6 PM the previous night and that he hadn't met them that morning as usual... and that they had looked everywhere. His car was still parked in it's usual place and his horse was still in it's stall, so they were concerned. It wasn't like Jim to not be the first guy up and ready to work in the mornings. By this time there were 4 or 5 others who had been out looking for him and we were all standing around wondering what to do. They were actually about to call the police when out wanders Jim at about 8:30.
These ranch hands just stood there staring at their boss with nothing to say. Jim saw everyone at the little cabin and walked over to us. Then, one of the guys asked him where he'd been? He just looked at me and said, "Blame him!" Now, I'm thinking, "What? I've been sound asleep all night, don't look at me!" But, he quickly finished the rest of the story. He said, "It was that mural. After you left last night, I finished up a few things that I had to do and then at about 6 PM, I went back into my room to look at the mural again. I laid down on the bed and as I let my eyes adjust to the dark... the stars started to pop out a few at a time, until the entire ceiling was covered. Then the Milky Way came into view. I just lay there looking at that scene... and before I knew it I was out cold. It wasn't until about midnight that I woke up, fully dressed, to use the restroom. Then I grabbed a bite to eat and went back and got into bed again. I stared into the stars again for maybe 15 minutes and I was out again. It was amazing! And, I just woke up about 15 minutes ago!"
He then said that he hadn't slept like that in years and he couldn't believe what he'd done. Well, neither could the other guys who were standing there because they knew how hard it was for him to sleep. Now, I had left the black plastic up on the windows the night before because he'd told me that he might want to go back in and look at it again for a minute... so that may explain why he slept through his normal time to wake up at 5 AM when the sun started to lighten the eastern sky. But still... that was about 14 hours that he'd slept and nobody could believe it. He did write a few weeks later, after he'd been able to get used to it... and he told me that he was able to go to sleep in about 30 minutes now... and if he'd wake up during the night, he no longer worried about falling quickly back to sleep. He was very grateful for the unexpected result that the mural had on him... but he still joked about falling asleep at 6 PM that first night, in his clothes, without eating dinner and without any trouble.
I guess he had a lot of years of sleep to catch up on.
One last little note. Now I'm no expert, but I wonder if many people have trouble falling to sleep because their minds are racing with thoughts of the day that just finished, of bills, of kids, of things they need to do the following day... or whatever? And maybe, because they have nothing else to focus on, but a black void above their heads... there is nothing to take their minds off of all of those things. Who knows? But this I do know... there is a former insomniac, on a ranch, in a small town in California... who now has a problem staying awake at night and then waking back up again in the morning. He now looks forward to going to bed when the day is done... where he used to dread it.
Monday, October 25, 2010
A shameless plug.
You know... I'm just a one-man show. I do all of the marketing, updates to my website, accounting, taxes, purchasing, mixing of paint, painting of murals... and making phone calls. It isn't glamourous, but I do enjoy what I do... mostly. Plus, because my home office is sometimes in the dedicated office; sometimes in the kitchen; and a lot of the time in the bedroom on a card table... it gives me a lot of time to be with my kids while they are growing up, and love it. When I was growing up, my dad would be gone long before before I'd wake up.. and I remember I couldn't wait for him to arrive home from work so we could play catch with the baseball. My kids see me so much that they can't wait for me to fly out again on another painting trip. Nah... I don't take it personal. I sometimes can't wait to leave either.
I commute to work a couple of times a month by catching a ride (from my wife) to the airport and then taking a flight to various locations somewhere between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Can I just say right now that Houston in the middle of summer is not the perfect place for me? Winter is great... but not summer! :-)
So, what I am getting at (finally) is this... I work my little painting business from the, sometimes, comfort of my home, where kids are screaming (did I mention they are home schooled and home all the time?) or wanting my attention, my wife is always close by with her long list of honey-do's... and a dog that needs a little attention now and then. So how is it that these national media outlets like the Robb Report's "Luxury Homes" magazine, Angie's List magazine, Affluent magazine, HGTV, the Fine Living network and then this week, Unique Homes magazine all find out about me? Dang, I've even had an Interior Decorator, who has a national Home Improvement show, tell me that whenever I'm in her area... to let her know because she wants to put me (my product really) on the show. Now I'm thinking that that could be really detrimental to my business if I were to appear (Maybe I can hire an actor to play my part???).
By nightskymurals at 2010-10-25
Now I'm not complaining in the least. I love the exposure from these outlets... and I have worked my backside off to create a great product and to keep my customers happy. But as I think back on all of the great exposure... it blows me away. I mean, I have no real talent... not even at art, yet I make a living as an artist and I get written up in national publications and on TV. What a country!
But, let me say this - when it comes to creating a realistic, star-filled night sky... I will challenge any "real" artist to paint a better mural than this "non-artist" can. But, the challenge only extends to the night sky. After that... my 5 year old can run circles around me in artistic ability.
So, thanks to all of the media outlets for the confidence to run your articles and video spots about my company! I don't understand it... but I love it and I'll take it any day!
Here is the latest from Unique Homes magazine...
Unique Homes magazine article
Hey... why hasn't Oprah called yet?
I commute to work a couple of times a month by catching a ride (from my wife) to the airport and then taking a flight to various locations somewhere between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Can I just say right now that Houston in the middle of summer is not the perfect place for me? Winter is great... but not summer! :-)
So, what I am getting at (finally) is this... I work my little painting business from the, sometimes, comfort of my home, where kids are screaming (did I mention they are home schooled and home all the time?) or wanting my attention, my wife is always close by with her long list of honey-do's... and a dog that needs a little attention now and then. So how is it that these national media outlets like the Robb Report's "Luxury Homes" magazine, Angie's List magazine, Affluent magazine, HGTV, the Fine Living network and then this week, Unique Homes magazine all find out about me? Dang, I've even had an Interior Decorator, who has a national Home Improvement show, tell me that whenever I'm in her area... to let her know because she wants to put me (my product really) on the show. Now I'm thinking that that could be really detrimental to my business if I were to appear (Maybe I can hire an actor to play my part???).
By nightskymurals at 2010-10-25
Now I'm not complaining in the least. I love the exposure from these outlets... and I have worked my backside off to create a great product and to keep my customers happy. But as I think back on all of the great exposure... it blows me away. I mean, I have no real talent... not even at art, yet I make a living as an artist and I get written up in national publications and on TV. What a country!
But, let me say this - when it comes to creating a realistic, star-filled night sky... I will challenge any "real" artist to paint a better mural than this "non-artist" can. But, the challenge only extends to the night sky. After that... my 5 year old can run circles around me in artistic ability.
So, thanks to all of the media outlets for the confidence to run your articles and video spots about my company! I don't understand it... but I love it and I'll take it any day!
Here is the latest from Unique Homes magazine...
Unique Homes magazine article
Hey... why hasn't Oprah called yet?
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Star Ceilings... "Painted" vs "Fiber Optics"
Star Ceiling – Fiber optics vs Painted
A star ceiling is a definite plus for any home theater or bedroom... but what is the best way to go? Should you install Fiber Optics or have the ceiling painted (either by yourself or by a professional)? Well, that depends...
Of course my view is going to be a little biased... but I will try to be fair to all three options.
First, lets go over "Fiber optics". They are great to view in almost any light. This is a big “Pro” when compared to a painted ceiling. A painted mural acts just like a real night sky and disappears in the light. Fiber optics can still be visible in the light.
When there are lights off in the room... the fiber optics are visible and beautiful. When the lights are on... they are still visible and beautiful. And, you can even make them twinkle.
But, there are some downsides to fiber optics too.
* They are pricey
* They require a lot of extra work to have them installed.
* Holes need to be drilled.
* Wires need to be run.
* If there is no crawl space above the ceiling... then panels need to be prepared, covered, wired and then installed.
* If you don't want to do all of the work yourself.. then you would need to hire someone to do it for you and they may not have much of a clue what to do either.
* You usually get only a fraction of the number of stars that a painted mural gives you.
* The holes drilled for the fibers are visible.
* You'd get one, maybe two, different sizes of stars.
* You will need to schedule a few days, to a week, for it to be installed.
* The twinkling stars, while cute, is not very natural.
But, they are nice and the big advantage is that you can see the stars at any time basically.
Now... what about the painted Night Sky Murals... DIY and Professionally installed?
Well, here is where I can speak with more authority.
Let's start with the DIY option. This option can be both good and bad. Bad if you have no talent as an artist and you just throw up some paint with a paint brush. (I have seen, and painted over, many a ceiling where the owner, or their friend, tried to paint the night sky with glow-in-the-dark paint) It looks really easy, but there are definitely some techniques that need to be learned first.
But, if you or a friend are an artist and you want to freehand it... then go for it. And remember... you don't have to fill every inch with stars; You can always add more stars later if needed. Don't try to go too crazy at first. Paint... step back... look... and then paint some more.
There are also stencil kits that you can purchase on the Internet. Out of the 4 or 5 different stencils that I have tried out... there is one that is much better than the rest, and it isn't even the most expensive. So, do your due diligence or email me and I will steer you in the right direction. If you have more than one or two rooms to paint... you will be sore after painting with the stencil. Just sayin.
The ”Pros” for the DIY option:
* Cheapest method to get a star mural on your ceiling.
* Usually slightly nicer than the plastic stars.
* You can paint over it if it looks ugly and then try again... or you can call in a professional.
* You can claim credit for having painted it.
* If you have to tear out part of your ceiling to fix something up in there... then you can repaint that area yourself.
The “Cons” to the DIY option:
* Sore neck and back.
* It's very easy to create a very ugly mural if you aren't careful.
* It isn't nearly as nice as one done by a professional (at least the better professionals).
* More unnecessary work to perform where you aren't already proficient.
* It is only slightly nicer than the plastic stars.
* It's frustrating.
*You'll probably glow in the dark for a few days from the paint that gets on you.
Now.. ”The Professional Option”. Are they really that expensive? Some are, some aren't. And, by the way, I am. (But, I am a lot less than having fiber optics installed)
A quick word about “Professionals” here. There are many people/companies that will teach others to paint a star mural... who have never even painted one themselves. Usually they are either companies who want to sell their glow paint (so they teach you a method which creates a need for their paint, and they usually are terrible techniques)... or they are just lazy people who see a good idea and try to capitalize on someone elses success by marketing a “Star-Painting Business Kit” themselves. And, as a result, the people they “train” have learned really bad techniques from these non-skilled, snake oil salesmen. So you want to be careful who you hire.
Having said that... I have seen some work done by other artists that really surprised me, because the murals they painted were actually really nice. They were much better than I had expected them to be after hearing who they'd learned from. But these murals were, for the most part, painted by people who were already muralists before they ever decided to add “star mural” ceilings to their portfolio.
So please be careful when hiring an artist and try to see their work first... or at least have them drop by with, or send you a sample of their work that you can look at. I mean... do you really want to spend all that time decorating your theater room... only to have an amateur come in and destroy your ceiling? There are good artists out there... but you need to search to find them.
As for the cost... You can find people who will throw some paint up on your ceiling for anywhere from $1 to $4 per square foot. My prices start at $6 per sq. ft... and can go as high as $12 per sq. ft. depending on the detail and preparation before I can paint. I'm more expensive than most, but I am fair and the value that you get, I think, comes out to be a better deal.
OK... here are the “Pros” to having a professional paint the mural:
* The look is Incredible! (When done right by a true professional)
* Painted night sky murals blow fiber optics away in the dark. (Fiber optics excel in lighted areas) But for realism... there is no comparison to a painted mural.
* You can have a realistic looking Milky Way in your mural, that has a cloudy look to it and has thousands and thousands of tiny little stars.
* You can have other deep space objects and the moon added in. (I suggest only having a crescent moon painted in... because I try to make the mural look like a night sky that you would see from a remote location on earth. Galaxies and Nebula aren't really visible with the naked eye from earth) But, it is possible to have all those things with a painted mural.
* You can create the illusion of mountains surrounding the room when the mural is brought down the walls.
* Ceiling fans and heat registers can be painted too... so they don't become black holes when the room is dark.
* If you feed some professional painters some cookie dough (ahem!) they might even throw in a shooting star or two (which are really more like comets since they don't move).
* Virtually invisible in the light.
* Thousands of stars in the mural... compared to only a couple hundred with fiber optics and DIY options.
* 10 to 15 different sized stars in the murals. This is what creates an incredible 3D look.
* Paint (a good muralist should have this paint) that will glow for up to 12 hours. The smaller stars will fade in about 3 to 4... and the larger stars will glow longer.
* The paint can be made to fluoresce under a black light for viewing during a movie. Not as bright as fiber optics, but more natural looking.
* The mural actually changes the longer the lights are off. The mural will look one way when the lights are first turned out... and totally different 3 hours later.
* Stars seem to twinkle... naturally. Something about the paint and the cones and rods in your eyes will have you swearing that the stars are really twinkling.
* No smell.
* Can be painted on most finishes.
* Usually done in a day.
No need for a crawl space in your ceiling for the mural to be painted. Nor is there the need to add a false ceiling. You regular ceiling is just fine.
* Invisible in the light... just like the real night sky at noon. Your room will look like it always has when the lights are on.
The ”Cons” to a painted mural:
* The cost can get up there, but usually less than fiber optics.
* You need to make cookie dough for some artists. :-)
* You need a fairly dark room for the mural to be seen as intended.
* You need a good fluorescent light source to charge the paint for 10 minutes (Still, plugging in a black light or two is easier than wiring for fiber optics).
* You could get a bad professional (Do your due-diligence).
* Invisible in the light. This is a “Con” if you want then to be visible in the light.
OK, I tried to give a fair overview of some different options for a star ceiling. But, whatever option you choose... get a star ceiling done. They are so incredibly relaxing and romantic. You've designed everything for the light... now just do this one thing for the dark. You will be so happy you did.
If you have a day-sky (blue sky and clouds) painted on the ceiling... then get a night sky painted on top of that. When the lights are on, the day-sky will be visible. When the lights go out... the night sky will appear. It's very cool!
OK, I have gotten many questions about the murals from people who are building home theaters... and home theaters are probably my number one area to paint in.
Please ask any questions that you have and I will try to answer them for you.
If you are in the building stages.. and can still add in wiring to power some lights... I can tell you where you should have them placed. If you can still add a soffit around the top... I can give you good ideas about how to build that too.
So, if you are considering stars in your ceiling.. ask away and I will try to help you out.
A star ceiling is a definite plus for any home theater or bedroom... but what is the best way to go? Should you install Fiber Optics or have the ceiling painted (either by yourself or by a professional)? Well, that depends...
Of course my view is going to be a little biased... but I will try to be fair to all three options.
First, lets go over "Fiber optics". They are great to view in almost any light. This is a big “Pro” when compared to a painted ceiling. A painted mural acts just like a real night sky and disappears in the light. Fiber optics can still be visible in the light.
When there are lights off in the room... the fiber optics are visible and beautiful. When the lights are on... they are still visible and beautiful. And, you can even make them twinkle.
But, there are some downsides to fiber optics too.
* They are pricey
* They require a lot of extra work to have them installed.
* Holes need to be drilled.
* Wires need to be run.
* If there is no crawl space above the ceiling... then panels need to be prepared, covered, wired and then installed.
* If you don't want to do all of the work yourself.. then you would need to hire someone to do it for you and they may not have much of a clue what to do either.
* You usually get only a fraction of the number of stars that a painted mural gives you.
* The holes drilled for the fibers are visible.
* You'd get one, maybe two, different sizes of stars.
* You will need to schedule a few days, to a week, for it to be installed.
* The twinkling stars, while cute, is not very natural.
But, they are nice and the big advantage is that you can see the stars at any time basically.
Now... what about the painted Night Sky Murals... DIY and Professionally installed?
Well, here is where I can speak with more authority.
Let's start with the DIY option. This option can be both good and bad. Bad if you have no talent as an artist and you just throw up some paint with a paint brush. (I have seen, and painted over, many a ceiling where the owner, or their friend, tried to paint the night sky with glow-in-the-dark paint) It looks really easy, but there are definitely some techniques that need to be learned first.
But, if you or a friend are an artist and you want to freehand it... then go for it. And remember... you don't have to fill every inch with stars; You can always add more stars later if needed. Don't try to go too crazy at first. Paint... step back... look... and then paint some more.
There are also stencil kits that you can purchase on the Internet. Out of the 4 or 5 different stencils that I have tried out... there is one that is much better than the rest, and it isn't even the most expensive. So, do your due diligence or email me and I will steer you in the right direction. If you have more than one or two rooms to paint... you will be sore after painting with the stencil. Just sayin.
The ”Pros” for the DIY option:
* Cheapest method to get a star mural on your ceiling.
* Usually slightly nicer than the plastic stars.
* You can paint over it if it looks ugly and then try again... or you can call in a professional.
* You can claim credit for having painted it.
* If you have to tear out part of your ceiling to fix something up in there... then you can repaint that area yourself.
The “Cons” to the DIY option:
* Sore neck and back.
* It's very easy to create a very ugly mural if you aren't careful.
* It isn't nearly as nice as one done by a professional (at least the better professionals).
* More unnecessary work to perform where you aren't already proficient.
* It is only slightly nicer than the plastic stars.
* It's frustrating.
*You'll probably glow in the dark for a few days from the paint that gets on you.
Now.. ”The Professional Option”. Are they really that expensive? Some are, some aren't. And, by the way, I am. (But, I am a lot less than having fiber optics installed)
A quick word about “Professionals” here. There are many people/companies that will teach others to paint a star mural... who have never even painted one themselves. Usually they are either companies who want to sell their glow paint (so they teach you a method which creates a need for their paint, and they usually are terrible techniques)... or they are just lazy people who see a good idea and try to capitalize on someone elses success by marketing a “Star-Painting Business Kit” themselves. And, as a result, the people they “train” have learned really bad techniques from these non-skilled, snake oil salesmen. So you want to be careful who you hire.
Having said that... I have seen some work done by other artists that really surprised me, because the murals they painted were actually really nice. They were much better than I had expected them to be after hearing who they'd learned from. But these murals were, for the most part, painted by people who were already muralists before they ever decided to add “star mural” ceilings to their portfolio.
So please be careful when hiring an artist and try to see their work first... or at least have them drop by with, or send you a sample of their work that you can look at. I mean... do you really want to spend all that time decorating your theater room... only to have an amateur come in and destroy your ceiling? There are good artists out there... but you need to search to find them.
As for the cost... You can find people who will throw some paint up on your ceiling for anywhere from $1 to $4 per square foot. My prices start at $6 per sq. ft... and can go as high as $12 per sq. ft. depending on the detail and preparation before I can paint. I'm more expensive than most, but I am fair and the value that you get, I think, comes out to be a better deal.
OK... here are the “Pros” to having a professional paint the mural:
* The look is Incredible! (When done right by a true professional)
* Painted night sky murals blow fiber optics away in the dark. (Fiber optics excel in lighted areas) But for realism... there is no comparison to a painted mural.
* You can have a realistic looking Milky Way in your mural, that has a cloudy look to it and has thousands and thousands of tiny little stars.
* You can have other deep space objects and the moon added in. (I suggest only having a crescent moon painted in... because I try to make the mural look like a night sky that you would see from a remote location on earth. Galaxies and Nebula aren't really visible with the naked eye from earth) But, it is possible to have all those things with a painted mural.
* You can create the illusion of mountains surrounding the room when the mural is brought down the walls.
* Ceiling fans and heat registers can be painted too... so they don't become black holes when the room is dark.
* If you feed some professional painters some cookie dough (ahem!) they might even throw in a shooting star or two (which are really more like comets since they don't move).
* Virtually invisible in the light.
* Thousands of stars in the mural... compared to only a couple hundred with fiber optics and DIY options.
* 10 to 15 different sized stars in the murals. This is what creates an incredible 3D look.
* Paint (a good muralist should have this paint) that will glow for up to 12 hours. The smaller stars will fade in about 3 to 4... and the larger stars will glow longer.
* The paint can be made to fluoresce under a black light for viewing during a movie. Not as bright as fiber optics, but more natural looking.
* The mural actually changes the longer the lights are off. The mural will look one way when the lights are first turned out... and totally different 3 hours later.
* Stars seem to twinkle... naturally. Something about the paint and the cones and rods in your eyes will have you swearing that the stars are really twinkling.
* No smell.
* Can be painted on most finishes.
* Usually done in a day.
No need for a crawl space in your ceiling for the mural to be painted. Nor is there the need to add a false ceiling. You regular ceiling is just fine.
* Invisible in the light... just like the real night sky at noon. Your room will look like it always has when the lights are on.
The ”Cons” to a painted mural:
* The cost can get up there, but usually less than fiber optics.
* You need to make cookie dough for some artists. :-)
* You need a fairly dark room for the mural to be seen as intended.
* You need a good fluorescent light source to charge the paint for 10 minutes (Still, plugging in a black light or two is easier than wiring for fiber optics).
* You could get a bad professional (Do your due-diligence).
* Invisible in the light. This is a “Con” if you want then to be visible in the light.
OK, I tried to give a fair overview of some different options for a star ceiling. But, whatever option you choose... get a star ceiling done. They are so incredibly relaxing and romantic. You've designed everything for the light... now just do this one thing for the dark. You will be so happy you did.
If you have a day-sky (blue sky and clouds) painted on the ceiling... then get a night sky painted on top of that. When the lights are on, the day-sky will be visible. When the lights go out... the night sky will appear. It's very cool!
OK, I have gotten many questions about the murals from people who are building home theaters... and home theaters are probably my number one area to paint in.
Please ask any questions that you have and I will try to answer them for you.
If you are in the building stages.. and can still add in wiring to power some lights... I can tell you where you should have them placed. If you can still add a soffit around the top... I can give you good ideas about how to build that too.
So, if you are considering stars in your ceiling.. ask away and I will try to help you out.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Night Sky Murals Blog: It's fun to get noticed...
Night Sky Murals Blog: It's fun to get noticed...: "I was like a little kid last week. Finally, after a year and a half of waiting... the segment that was originally set to air on the HGTV net..."
Night Sky Murals Blog: Finally a good picture
Night Sky Murals Blog: Finally a good picture: "One of the toughest things about the murals that I do is that it is very difficult to get a good picture of one. Since the night sky is not..."
Night Sky Murals Blog: What was the inspiration for Night Sky Murals?
Night Sky Murals Blog: What was the inspiration for Night Sky Murals?: "I am often asked, 'What was your inspiration for creating your starry-night murals?' Or, 'When did your interest in the night sky begin?' W..."
Night Sky Murals Blog: Painting a Night Sky Mural on top of another mural...
Night Sky Murals Blog: Painting a Night Sky Mural on top of another mural...: "Something that I have loved doing for years, but don't get the chance to do much, is to paint a night sky mural on top of another ceiling mu..."
Painting a Night Sky Mural on top of another mural. No problem!
Something that I have loved doing for years, but don't get the chance to do much, is to paint a night sky mural on top of another ceiling mural. The effect is great!
I've painted on top of giant suns, trees, victorian and brick looking murals in the past, as well as a few other types. But, my favorite mural to paint over is one that looks like a day-sky. When the lights are on, my night sky mural is invisible and the customer only sees the day-sky mural.
(Here's a mural that I painted over (on top of) in Houston. It is a great looking day-sky mural that the customer had a friend of his paint the week before I arrived there. At the end of the chem-trail at the bottom of the mural, is a very realistic jet. Very nice!)
As you can see from the picture above, the night sky mural is not visible. All that you can see is the really nice day sky, a few clouds floating by, and a jet flying through it. This mural is in the center of a theater room, which has no windows, so it seems to open up the room when the lights are on.
But, when the lights go out, something amazing happens. As the room goes dark, the day-sky mural disappears and the night sky begins to appear right before your eyes. The reason I say "begins to appear" is because when the lights go out, your eyes are still adapted to the light.
(This picture is if the same mural as I showed you above, only with the lights out. Let me say that there are many, many more stars in this mural than you can see from the picture, but the camera has a very hard time picking them up. When you are standing there, underneath this mural... it is truly an amazing thing to see! Not just my mural... but the two of them together.)
But, as your eyes start to adjust to the dark, like magic, you start seeing a few of the constellation stars appear before your once blind eyes. Then, a few seconds later, you will see a hundred, or so, more stars appear. Let a minute go by and you will see thousands of stars, then the Milky Way, a shooting star and even a crescent moon. Once that happens, your jaw will drop and you will stand there drooling in amazement. OK, you might not drool, but I have had more than one customer actually cry as they watched the night sky appearing before them... because, as they told me, it was so realistic and they just couldn't believe what they were seeing. And, it gets a little awkward when it's a large, hardened man that is the one doing the crying.
Well, there you have it. Can I paint my Night Sky Murals over another mural? Absolutely! The murals, coming to life when the lights go out on a normal, painted ceiling, are amazing enough. But, add another mural to the mix and it is beyond words. You're starting to tear up just imagining it, aren't you? :-)
Oh, if you want to see both murals together, or if you don't have another mural on your ceiling... but want to see some of the stars in low light, then I can use a special blend of my paint and you can see the stars with some light on in the room too.
(Click on the picture to get a better view of both murals. Again, there are many more stars in this mural than the camera can pick up. But, your eyes have no problem picking them up)
Have questions? Contact me and ask away.
I've painted on top of giant suns, trees, victorian and brick looking murals in the past, as well as a few other types. But, my favorite mural to paint over is one that looks like a day-sky. When the lights are on, my night sky mural is invisible and the customer only sees the day-sky mural.
As you can see from the picture above, the night sky mural is not visible. All that you can see is the really nice day sky, a few clouds floating by, and a jet flying through it. This mural is in the center of a theater room, which has no windows, so it seems to open up the room when the lights are on.
But, when the lights go out, something amazing happens. As the room goes dark, the day-sky mural disappears and the night sky begins to appear right before your eyes. The reason I say "begins to appear" is because when the lights go out, your eyes are still adapted to the light.
But, as your eyes start to adjust to the dark, like magic, you start seeing a few of the constellation stars appear before your once blind eyes. Then, a few seconds later, you will see a hundred, or so, more stars appear. Let a minute go by and you will see thousands of stars, then the Milky Way, a shooting star and even a crescent moon. Once that happens, your jaw will drop and you will stand there drooling in amazement. OK, you might not drool, but I have had more than one customer actually cry as they watched the night sky appearing before them... because, as they told me, it was so realistic and they just couldn't believe what they were seeing. And, it gets a little awkward when it's a large, hardened man that is the one doing the crying.
Well, there you have it. Can I paint my Night Sky Murals over another mural? Absolutely! The murals, coming to life when the lights go out on a normal, painted ceiling, are amazing enough. But, add another mural to the mix and it is beyond words. You're starting to tear up just imagining it, aren't you? :-)
Oh, if you want to see both murals together, or if you don't have another mural on your ceiling... but want to see some of the stars in low light, then I can use a special blend of my paint and you can see the stars with some light on in the room too.
Have questions? Contact me and ask away.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
What was the inspiration for Night Sky Murals?
I am often asked, "What was your inspiration for creating your starry-night murals?" Or, "When did your interest in the night sky begin?"
Well, the fact is that the "when" and "where" happened at the same time. And, I want to share it with you here... and try to show you want I saw so long ago that totally stunned me.
It happened when I was about 8 years old (way back in 1969) when we were camping in the Redwoods in California. My dad had grown up working on his grandparents pack station as a youngster... and he would take us to those same mountains when we were growing up too.
(The campsite where we used to camp as we grew up. Now, I take my kids there to enjoy the same experience I did as a child. For me... I enjoy this forest, today, the same as I did years ago.)
On this particular night, we'd gone to bed early to be rested and ready to get down to the lake to fish at first light. When we went to bed (fairly early) there were camp fires casting their light on the pines and redwoods, as did the many lanterns from our camp, as well as the other campsites all around us. And, with all of the light bouncing off of the trees that surrounded us, the night sky wasn't very noticeable. It was only a slightly better than what we were used to seeing at night in the city.
(This is a picture looking up through the pines and redwoods where we used to camp. And, this is the same area of sky where I first saw the night sky on a very dark night with no light pollution around us)
Well, that was when we went to sleep at about 9 PM. But, at about 2 AM, when I woke up for some reason... I saw, for the first time in my life, a real night sky. One that was so full of bright stars, the Milky Way galaxy, shooting stars and satellites that it caught me off guard and it scared me for a short time.
If you have never been to a dark location; If you are only used to seeing a handful of constellations because they have the only stars bright enough to be visible through the light pollution in and around a decent sized city; and, if you have never seen the Milky Way stretch across a night sky without having to squint and search long and hard... then this will seem a little strange to you.
That's because in and around city lights... the thousands of smaller stars that are visible everywhere in a dark sky are not visible. So, only the brightest stars (those in the constellations along with a handful of others) are the only stars that are visible. But, get far enough out of town, away from all of the street lights and other lights that go along with making a city safe... and you realize that those few constellations that you are used to seeing... are such a small part of what it really up there.
That is what happened to me that night so long ago. At about 2 AM, something woke me up. And, as I opened my eyes and looked up through the tree branches, my eyes beheld something that I had never seen before. At first, fright is what I felt. Then, as I realized what I was seeing, the fright was changed to amazement and wonderment. WOW, I said in my mind!
(This is a picture that I created, using the same picture of looking through the trees that I posted above... to give an example of what I saw that night when I was 8 years old. The only thing missing is the Milky Way that was there.)
OK, there you have it. This is where and when it all started for me. This sight that I saw back in the day... stayed with me throughout my life. And, I always wanted to see that night sky again. I'd go back up to camp in the same mountains, but it seemed that I could only go when the moon was out. The sky was still nice, but it still washed out thousands of stars. So, there had to be a way to create that same sky for people who lived in the city... and the idea for Night Sky Murals was born.
I will say that the "which way to go about doing the ceilings" isn't my own. It came from a company that is no longer in business. (I'd seen a very basic mural on a ceiling almost 30 years ago... and I knew that I could do that, and do it much better.) I started right away to try my hand at creating a night sky... and boy, did I fail. But, I kept at it and tried again and again.
The murals got better and friends started wanting me to paint one for them too. They would make comments and suggestions and I would implement their ideas (the good ones, that is). That went on for years and the murals just kept getting better until I was offered money to paint one. That was very cool. I did more and more murals, listened to suggestions, implemented them and then started painting again. Today, there are no murals of the night sky as realistic as a Night Sky Mural... and I have only my friends and former customers to thank for being unafraid to make suggestions.
Well, the fact is that the "when" and "where" happened at the same time. And, I want to share it with you here... and try to show you want I saw so long ago that totally stunned me.
It happened when I was about 8 years old (way back in 1969) when we were camping in the Redwoods in California. My dad had grown up working on his grandparents pack station as a youngster... and he would take us to those same mountains when we were growing up too.
On this particular night, we'd gone to bed early to be rested and ready to get down to the lake to fish at first light. When we went to bed (fairly early) there were camp fires casting their light on the pines and redwoods, as did the many lanterns from our camp, as well as the other campsites all around us. And, with all of the light bouncing off of the trees that surrounded us, the night sky wasn't very noticeable. It was only a slightly better than what we were used to seeing at night in the city.
(This is a picture looking up through the pines and redwoods where we used to camp. And, this is the same area of sky where I first saw the night sky on a very dark night with no light pollution around us)
Well, that was when we went to sleep at about 9 PM. But, at about 2 AM, when I woke up for some reason... I saw, for the first time in my life, a real night sky. One that was so full of bright stars, the Milky Way galaxy, shooting stars and satellites that it caught me off guard and it scared me for a short time.
If you have never been to a dark location; If you are only used to seeing a handful of constellations because they have the only stars bright enough to be visible through the light pollution in and around a decent sized city; and, if you have never seen the Milky Way stretch across a night sky without having to squint and search long and hard... then this will seem a little strange to you.
That's because in and around city lights... the thousands of smaller stars that are visible everywhere in a dark sky are not visible. So, only the brightest stars (those in the constellations along with a handful of others) are the only stars that are visible. But, get far enough out of town, away from all of the street lights and other lights that go along with making a city safe... and you realize that those few constellations that you are used to seeing... are such a small part of what it really up there.
That is what happened to me that night so long ago. At about 2 AM, something woke me up. And, as I opened my eyes and looked up through the tree branches, my eyes beheld something that I had never seen before. At first, fright is what I felt. Then, as I realized what I was seeing, the fright was changed to amazement and wonderment. WOW, I said in my mind!
(This is a picture that I created, using the same picture of looking through the trees that I posted above... to give an example of what I saw that night when I was 8 years old. The only thing missing is the Milky Way that was there.)
OK, there you have it. This is where and when it all started for me. This sight that I saw back in the day... stayed with me throughout my life. And, I always wanted to see that night sky again. I'd go back up to camp in the same mountains, but it seemed that I could only go when the moon was out. The sky was still nice, but it still washed out thousands of stars. So, there had to be a way to create that same sky for people who lived in the city... and the idea for Night Sky Murals was born.
I will say that the "which way to go about doing the ceilings" isn't my own. It came from a company that is no longer in business. (I'd seen a very basic mural on a ceiling almost 30 years ago... and I knew that I could do that, and do it much better.) I started right away to try my hand at creating a night sky... and boy, did I fail. But, I kept at it and tried again and again.
The murals got better and friends started wanting me to paint one for them too. They would make comments and suggestions and I would implement their ideas (the good ones, that is). That went on for years and the murals just kept getting better until I was offered money to paint one. That was very cool. I did more and more murals, listened to suggestions, implemented them and then started painting again. Today, there are no murals of the night sky as realistic as a Night Sky Mural... and I have only my friends and former customers to thank for being unafraid to make suggestions.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Finally a good picture
One of the toughest things about the murals that I do is that it is very difficult to get a good picture of one. Since the night sky is not visible in the light... you have to have a really good camera to capture the murals.
Then, even when we can capture a picture of the star-filled night sky on the ceiling above... you can't really get the 3D to come through. But, still we try...
This is a picture of a mural that I painted a couple of years ago. The homeowner sent it to me just a little while ago and I love it! Of course the mural looks totally different with the lights out, but it is still really nice with the black lights on. And, they also allow the mural to be visible during the movie. Nice!
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