I recently painted this safari themed nursery mural in a Chicago Suburban home. The parents wanted lots of animals (and 2 golden-doodles!) so their little guy would have lots of things to look at and learn to identify. The challenge was to paint animals that were realistic but not 'scary'. I did this by using soft colors, rounded edges and subtle details. Painting realistic 'eyes' can make an animal look almost too realistic so I purposely kept it a little more whimsical.
I'm so excited to introduce my latest prints - for little boy's 'Pickup Truck or Fishing Themed' nursery or bedroom!
The General Store print can be totally personalized in 3 different places. You can be as creative as you want - including your town, etc.. The 3 places you can personalize are the large store sign, the truck's side panel and the Post Office. The truck's side panel is a perfect place to personalize with Logging Co, Auto Repair, etc..
The log cabin print is set in a wooded wonderland - with pine trees, a log cabin with campfire and (best of all) a little boy fishing (wearing a buffalo plaid shirt) with his dog. There is a sign on the log cabin that can have the boy's name.
Here's an example of personaliztion:
I love the popular new buffalo plaid crib bedding and tried to create original watercolor prints that captured life in the country, mountains or woods - that would coordinate with red plaid but be unique. Little boys love dogs and fishing and who doesn't love to roast marshmallows at a campfire?
I've used the general store from a small town in Alaska as inspiration for my General Store. I then added a vintage red truck because - well, I just love red trucks and so does my grandson.
Having a sister that lives in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, I've been lucky enough to spend a lot of time walking through paths in the woods and looking at all the beautiful log and lake homes. So, one of my goals in designing these prints, was to give people living in these lovely wooded areas of the country - artwork for their child's room that was different and realistic. I wanted to create real scenes that are reminiscent of the little towns that dot the country - in places like Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, California, Indiana ... the list goes on and on!
If you'd like to order this set of prints (or canvases) - or just want to check out my nursery & children's prints (including Paris, London, Hot Air Balloons and more!), please visit my Etsy Shop:
To see the children's prints, please visit my Etsy Shop.
I painted this 'Sports Locker' for a 7 year old boy's new bedroom. It was fun doing this project because he helped design the mural - by choosing his favorite players and then choosing what his jersey would be (team, name, number).
A sports locker is a great idea - if you want to capture different sports and feature your son's favorite players. We added a few fun items - like a water bottle, cleats, football, pads, baseball and bat, helmet and soccer ball - to even add more whimsy.
This mural should last for years - since I'm pretty sure he'll never outgrow his love of sports!
I live in Elmhurst and have been painting murals for over 20 years so - if you live in the Chicagoland area and are interested in getting a quote on a child's or nursery mural (or for any room in your house) please call or email me.
You can see more examples of my work on this blog or on my website.
Thank you for stopping by!
Debbie Cerone
call: 1(630)841-1960 email: [email protected]
Myles loves all kinds of sports! In fact, it was hard narrowing down his favorite 4 players. I have painted 2 previous murals for Myles and he was now finally old enough to help plan his own mural - to include things that he loved. As a part of his room transformation - we also hung a full wall of NFL fathead decals - hung in 8 rows - with each row being a different division.
If you live in Chicago or suburbs and are interested in a mural, please send me an email and I'll get back to you right away!
The little guy that sleeps in this nursery, just loves jungle animals! Mom has done a fantastic job of creating a sweet, relaxing safari nursery. The nursery is done in soft grays with touches of blue. The nursery mural gives a few pops of color and gives the young resident a lot to look at!
We decided to do 3 'baby' animals. There is a cute baby owl, young monkey (looking into crib) and adorable giraffe - munching on leaves of tree.
Grandma wanted her 'soon to be' new granddaughter to have an adorable Winnie the Pooh Nursery. They also wanted a nursery that would last through any new babies to join the family in the future. I combined a modern day Tigger with several classic characters (like Winnie the Pooh in a tree, Christopher reading a book and Eeyore).
If you live in the Chicago Suburban area, and are interested in a mural for your child (or grandchild!), please give me a contact me any time. Consultations and 'ballpark' estimates are always free.
Chevron is a great idea for an awesome baby boy's nursery - that will grow with him! It will last for years and be a great backdrop for boy's name (in wooden letters) or art.
Following, are step by step directions - telling 'how to' I painted this Chevron wall.
The first step is to make a plan! You basically need to measure the length and height of the wall and divide it (as close as possible) to even squares. In my example above, I had 16/11" marks going across the top and 8/10.87" marks going down the length of wall. After I calculated this, I used a level to make little 'X's - marking off squares on the whole wall. This sounds harder than it is, so don't be overwhelmed! Once you make the marks across the top, you can draw a level line down (from each mark) and then draw a vertical line, from each mark you have made on side of wall. And, Voila - you have squares!!
HELPFUL HINT: Use a (gray toned) watercolor pencil to draw your lines. Draw lightly. If you are doing this on a background with 'eggshell' finish, the watercolor pencil marks should easily wipe off (with damp paper towel) once you are done.
The next step is the most time consuming. You must now tape off all chevron stripes. You will need an old credit card to smooth out and tighten tape and to make sharp, pointed corners. Remember, you must tape on the outside of every Chevron stripe. You also need to have a perfect point (see pic below).
Once the wall is completely taped - run your credit card over all tape, to tighten the tape as much as possible. Then, lightly brush one coat of paint (feathering the edges) along all paint lines. After this dries, use a small roller to roll inside of lines. Then, go back and repaint all edges with a brush and roll a second coat.
Remove tape as you go along - after completing second coat. Note, I always remove paint as quickly as possible! If you leave the paint on for hours, it may pull off your paint when you remove it.
Final Note: When you remove tape, you will probably have a few spots where the darker paint has bleed through. You can then take a small flat artists brush and touch up (using your wall's base paint). If you don't have a real steady hand. Just wait til the next day and use a little tape wherever you need to touch up.
Little Luke is lucky to have a Dad who is a Fireman. His parents bought him a new fire truck bed and wanted to have a fun wall to put the bed in front of. One that looked like it was his fire station!
Sven, Olaf and snow covered trees, make this the perfect mural for the TV wall of a 4 year olds loft playroom!
Sweet woodland animals, including owls, birds, raccoon, squirrel and more!
These art prints are copies of my original art and painted in today's popular aqua, gray and orange color pallet. Prints are sold in my Etsy store as a set of 3, 8 X 10" or 16 X 20". Professionally printed on matt paper and ready for framing.
To order prints or just check out my original children's art prints
(including jungle animals, Paris prints & more!) - click the link below:
Personalized nursery wall art makes a special
baby shower gift for baby shower!
Sweet, classy farm animals are just what you need for your Farm Animal Nursery! These 8" X 10" prints (professionally printed on 8.5 x 11 paper) are available for sale in my Etsy store, Nursery Rembrandts.
The set of 4 baby animals (cow, chick, pig and lamb) can be bought indidvidually or as a set. They can also be purchased with or without the animal's sound (moo, cluck, oink and baa). You can even have one print (without animal sound) personalized with the baby's name!
To order prints or just check out my original children's art prints
(including jungle animals, Paris prints & more!) - click the link below:
Planes & More Planes! What little boy doesn't love them? I've recently done 2 different plane murals - one featuring red 'fighter planes' and the other featuring little boy's favorite Dusty, from Planes movie. Both murals have boy's name spelled by 'sky-writing' name in clouds.
Customer Comment:
Debbie did an AMAZING job bringing to life the planes/characters for my sons' bedroom. He is completely captivated by the mural and loves to show it off to everyone who comes in the door! His name is beautifully written in sky writing above the planes and Debbie even incorporated his birth date into one of the planes. Debbie did my daughters nursery room 5 years ago and we were blown away by her work, I was confident it would be amazing and she did not disappoint, her work is gorgeous! I highly recommend her to anyone who is looking for quality work, she is simply the best :)
Sarah H., Schereville, IN
I painted this mural for twin boys, who's Mom & Dad wanted to give them lots of colorful animals and insects from nature - to look at and identify.
Mural goes contains a colorful parrot, tiger (from a popular children's book), lion, mom & baby giraffe, elephant, leopard sleeping in tree and several (cute) insects.
Gender Neutral Jungle Nursery Mural - filled with safari
animals, painted in soft colors in a contemporary style.
Some of the animals are based on one of big
sister Emma's favorite books.
Monkey flying plane - 'sky writing' baby's name!
Customer Comment:
I LOVE THE NURSERY!!!! It looks so cool. I already bragged to a bunch of friends.
Thank you so much! Let me know if you ever need a reference.
With a full wall of windows, overlooking Chicago - Mom wanted baby Symeon's new room to reflect Chicago's beautiful skyline - plus have some fun elements and bright colors to keep his interest. To do this, I painted a whimsical skyline and used primary colors to paint sailboats, Navy Pier's famous ferris wheel and a plane - which is 'sky writing' his name.
If you look closely, you'll see a channel 7 traffic helicopter!
Mack's Sailboat Room!
Four year old Mack was finally ready for his own room. So, his parents wanted his room to be really special, just like his twin brother (who's mural I also did!).
Every wall of his room is painted, so that he would feel like he was 'at sea'. He has a whale, pelicans, seagulls, a light house, huge waves, fun sailing accessories (hanging on a white, beachside fence) - and, of course, all kinds of sailboats.
If you look closely, there is a sailboat next to the light house - that has Mack, his brother and his dog.
Vintage red planes, clouds and sky writing (child's name)
fill the walls of this little boy's bedroom.
Below are examples of three 'Sports Themed Murals' I have done recently.
Toy chest painted with young client's favorite super heroes - including batman, spider-man, superman and the Incredible Hulk.
Spider-man is 'spelling out' boy's name with his web!
Customer Testimonial
"We just got Preston's toy box and it is absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for all the hard work you put into it. He's only 18m but when we asked if he liked it he kept saying yea and batman! When he gets a big boy bedroom I'll be contacting you again! :). Thank you!!!"
Giraffes, elephants, leopards, orangutans, rhino and lion cubs fill this Safari 'travel' themed baby nursery with wonder!
The animals, painted in a realistic style, will entertain the baby boy for many, many years. Several of the animals were actually based on photos that the father took on a photo safari to Africa.
I'm a watercolor artist - painting in my country home studio in Elburn, IL.
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