Folk Art Shutters

"The Burrow is the home of the Weasleys.
It's located outside of Ottery St. Catchpole

and it looks as if it's held together with magic

- which it probably is.

Harry describes it as the best house he's ever been in."

―J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

INSPIRATION

I loved this description of the Weasley's house and I wanted my house to appear as if it's held together by magic too.  In my mind, there was no better way to achieve that goal than to add folk-art-painted shutters!

I have been thinking about this project for many years.  There are a couple houses in Cincinnati that have them and I admire them every time I pass by.  Then a year ago my friend Margot put beautiful, hand-painted shutters on her house (you can see her lovely shutters here) and it inspired me to finally start on my own shutter project.

"A building without ornamentation is like a heaven without stars."

―George Sandys

SHUTTERS

I thought about making the shutters myself, but knew that might add months to the project.  In September of 2021, I purchased shutters from Exterior Solutions.  I was so nervous to get the size right because we have two wood supports for the dormer on either side of the window.  So the shutter absolutely had to fit inside of those supports.  I made cardboard mockups to make sure I got the size right.

The shutters sat in their boxes all winter and spring.  Finally in mid-June of 2022 we pulled them out and painted them the same grey-brown as the window moulding.  Note the quality control feline supervisor in the background.  

DESIGN

I knew I wanted to use elements from the design I painted on my back porch door in 2017 (you can see it here).  So I pulled up that file in Illustrator and started playing with different designs.  

In the end it came down to the following two designs below. 

The nice thing about Illustrator is that you can make everything to full scale.  So I knew once I finalized the design I could print them out and place them on the shutters to make sure everything fit.  Below you can see both designs taped to the shutters. 

I was having a hard time deciding so I photoshopped them onto the house.  I posted these options to Facebook and got a lot of feedback which was about 50/50 either way.  Sometimes the feedback can be helpful for me to figure out which way I am leaning.  I was already feeling a nudge towards "scrunched" when Margot said that traditionally you don't paint the batten.  That was all I needed to hear.

The winner was "scrunched"!

STENCIL

Once that decision was made I prepared the files to send to my friend Tiffany who has a laser cutter.  Below you can see what the files look like that I sent her.

And here is a short video of the stencil being cut.  The laser cuts through the Mylar like butter.  (Thank you for the video Tiffany!)

PAINTING THE STENCIL

It was fun to place that first stencil onto the shutter.  

After painting the very first layer of white it became clear I was going to need multiple layers to make it opaque...especially for the white.  I ended up painting at least 4 layers on every stencil.  That meant I had to let the stencil dry 4 times and that it would be extra "sticky". Below is a video of me pulling the stencil off the first time.

(Music by Scott Holmes, "Victoria")

As you can see from the video, the stencil "leaked."  Luckily it was fixable.  I was going to say it was easy to fix, but that would be a lie.  I spent a lot of time touching the stencils up afterwards.  Below you can see before and after touch up.

But to help with the "leaking" problem I did try something I'd  heard about a long time ago.  I painted the grey/brown background color onto the stencil first.  This helped prevent the color from leaking under the stencil.  It really did help quite a bit and even though it required an extra coat, I highly recommend taking the extra time.

Another thing I did to help with "leakage," was to scrape my stencil edges clean after every shutter.  Below you can see a photo of that process.  It may have been easier to use mineral spirits, but I didn't have any.  So my fingernails got worn down until I found an old credit card that worked just as well.

It felt so good to finish painting and touching up all the shutters.  Bubo was excited about it too.

CLEAR COAT (VARATHANE DAY!)

I wasn't sure I was going to even do this step.  But when I pulled the stencils off sometimes the paint would pull up a little bit and I would push it down with my fingers.  In order to secure everything I decided to spray the shutters with exterior water-based Varathane.   I used this product on my Hex Sign project and it has worked well (click here to see and for further discussion about clear coat options).  I sprayed 3-4 coats and called them done!

HANGING THE SHUTTERS

I finished painting the shutters mid-week and figured we would hang the shutters the following weekend.  Unfortunately I discovered I hadn't ordered enough hinges.  I originally ordered the hinges the previous year from Larson Shutters and was worried it would be hard to get them again with all the pandemic shortages.  Lucky for us, I found the same ones again and they arrived within a week.

During the week we were waiting on the new hinges we made a mockup of window moulding out of an old piece of wood that was about the same size.  I wish I had taken a photo of that step because you could see how many time we failed.  I thought I was going to lose my mind trying to get the hinge placement just right so that the weight would be evenly distributed between the two hinges.  I made paper templates to scale in Illustrator probably 5 times trying to get it just right.  

When it came time to actually hang the shutters we used a life-sized template with holes in it that we placed on the lower edge of the window.  I happened to have this weird "plastic-y" cardboard I had purchased to prevent the cats from jumping over the baby gates and it was the perfect material and stiffness for a template.

We also learned from making our wood moulding mockup that unfortunately we would not be able to close the shutters.  For some reason, George had his heart set on the shutters closing.  I think he pictured himself opening the shutters every morning to sing with the birds 😄.  We wrapped our heads around it and tried all sorts of things, but in the end we had to give that up.  When we tried to close the shutter, the batten would hit the moulding.  I would have had to order hinges that had a long pintel arm if we wanted them to close...and I didn't want the angle of the shutters to be too great or you wouldn't see the design. 

“We're in this life together, tethered to each other, fumbling and trying to find our way...”

— Daniell Koepke

The day of the shutter hanging we tethered George with an old faded-pink climbing rope and out he went onto the roof.  It was so nerve wracking that I didn't take any photos.  He was tethered to me and I kept having visions of me being sucked tight against the window if he fell.  Thank goodness all went well!  And thank goodness for washers!  Even with all my planning we still needed to use washers to make sure the weight was evenly distributed between the two hinges.

Once the shutters were done we still had to secure the shutters with shutter dogs.  (I also purchased the shutter dogs from Larson Shutters - here is the link).   

The only problem was they didn't come with an anti-rattle or anti-vibration bracket.  I ended up ordering that from Martell Hardware and it arrived within a week (link here).  I liked this bracket in particular because it allowed us to control the angle of the shutter against the house.  I wanted them almost parallel to the house because sometimes shutters can look droopy if they are pushed all the way back; plus I wanted the design to be fully visible.  We ended up buying 6 inch lag bolts (instead of using the 4 1/2 inch ones that came with them) in order to have enough room for the anti-vibration brackets.

Above you can see the shutter dogs installed.  Normally people put them below the shutter and they stick up.  They are designed to rotate easily when closing the shutter and the weight of the larger scroll will automatically pull the shutterdog back into vertical place.  However we had flashing below the window that we didn't want to drill into.  We ended up placing ours to the side and both the batten and the anti-vibration bracket helped keep it in place.

Below you can see George rejoicing after installing the shutter dogs and the job was finally, truly done!

This project might win the prize for longest from start to finish, but it really was satisfying to see how the shutters transformed the house.  When I pull into the driveway and see them it brings me joy every time.

I usually like to end my posts with some deep thoughts about life.  But this time I just want to say, "Do things that bring you joy."  That's it... sweet and simple.

 A big thank you to Tiffany for cutting the stencils for this project.  And a huge thank you to George for not only putting up with my crazy projects, but for helping me complete them.  I couldn't do any of this without your love and support and delicious cooking.

"Decorating golden rule: Live with what you love."
―Unknown

Tudor House: Watercolor Portrait

"You can't really say what is beautiful about a place,
but the image of the place will remain vividly with you."
—Tadao Ando

The Tudor architectural style is my favorite. When we moved to Cincinnati and were looking for a house, I didn't want to look at any house that was not a Tudor.  (We looked at one house that was not a Tudor and that is the one we ended up in...but that is another story.)  So when my neighbor asked me to do a house portrait and I saw her house was a Tudor, I was super excited.

Tudor houses are characterized by:

 "a steeply pitched roof, often with multiple overlapping, front-facing gables (the triangular portion of the roof) of varying heights... they're accented (often in those triangular gables) with decorative half-timbering: essentially a mock frame of thin boards with stucco or stone filling in the spaces between the boards."

"The windows used in Tudor houses are also a unique nod to medieval architecture. Windows are tall and narrow with multiple panes."

"Though often not in the center of the house, the front door is still a significant architectural feature on Tudor homes. They typically have a round arch at the top and tend to be bordered by a contrasting stone that stands out against the brick walls." (Source: House Beautiful) 

Usually, when I start a house portrait I like to photograph the house from numerous angles and I often like to stand a bit to the left or right side to show the three-dimensional depth.  I tried my usual tactic with this house, but my favorite photos were consistently from the front.  I think Tudor houses don't usually have much depth to them, and the front façade is what is most spectacular.  But it did make my job a little more difficult than normal, because adding the shadows to a house makes it really pop.  It became clear as I worked there wouldn't be that many shadows to indicate depth.

Below you can see my pencil sketch partly inked.  

After I inked in each stone, I could see it was going to be too much to ink the roof. So I left it as pencil.  I ended up using the pencil lines as a guide for my watercolor slates.

Below is a short video of the entire watercolor process from start to finish.

Each house portrait has its own challenges.  What I've found is that the house itself usually helps me find the solutions.  For example, I don't always ink in each stone.  In fact, it is a little unusual for me to do so.  I usually use some ink to indicate the presence of stone as I did here.  But for this Tudor house, the stone was the most striking element.  If the stone had covered the whole house it would have been too much...but because it was half the house I thought it really worked to balance the large expanse of stuccoed areas. 

The landscaping is another important feature that needs to be taken into account when decided on how much detail to put in.  This particular house had beautiful landscaping which added so much interest to the portrait.  I try to give the landscaping its own character while not letting it overwhelm the piece.

Once the piece is finished I add my initials in some hidden spot.  I would prefer not to put anything on the piece because I find it a distraction... but people seem to want it.

After signing the piece I cut the paper off the block, spray the back lightly with water and press it.  Although I paint the piece on a block that is glued around the edges, it inevitably will be wavy.  I was irritated because I had to press this portrait three days!  Every day I would take the books and rocks off and be disappointed that even the binding of a book can create a new wave in the paper.

Below you can see the binding of the black book at the bottom of the pile is turned to the center.  It created a small wave in the paper.  The next day I turned it around, but somehow another book did the same thing.  I finally found a big piece of book board that covered the whole piece and pressed it.  Duh!  Sometimes it takes me a while.

The very final step of the house portrait is to cut a sheet of glassine to protect the portrait.  And then to make a cardboard or foam core portfolio.  I just happened to have extra white "plastic-y" board that I used to stop the cats from jumping over the barrier gates, so I used it to make the portfolio this time.  

This afternoon I will hopefully deliver the portrait to my neighbor.  I've said it before, but I will say it again.  Doing these house portraits gives me such an appreciation for the craftmanship that went into these beautiful old homes.  I imagine the guy who had to choose each stone of the chimney and what an art form it is.  Spending time studying each house I draw makes me love and appreciate the city of Cincinnati. I feel lucky to live here and to own one of these centenarians myself.  Maybe one day I will draw my own house.  But today I will be happy to walk up to this gorgeous, wood front door, see the stonework close-up, and deliver a small package of Cincinnati history rendered with love and care. 

Love makes you see a place differently, just as you hold differently an object that belongs to someone you love. If you know one landscape well, you will look at all other landscapes differently.

— Anne Michaels

"Los Gatos" Linocut Print

I first met my friend Christina at a Cincinnati Illustrators lunch.  Christina ran the lunches and is a tremendously talented illustrator (check out her website here).  Before I knew it she had convinced me to fly with her to Denver and then drive down to Taos for a travel journal workshop by Amy Bogard.  It was quite an adventure and I had an incredible time. 

“Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you;
spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.”
– Amy Poehler

Both during and since that trip I have gotten to know Christina.  In addition to her incredible talent, she is one of the most open-hearted, non-judgmental, kind people I know.  She has also influenced me (and many others) profoundly as an artist.  I've learned so much from simply sketching next to her and peering over her shoulder to see how she illustrates a building, or a hippo, or a friend.  She is always encouraging and genuinely wants success for her fellow artists and has the tendency to pull others up with her.  I want to be more like that.

But back to the story at hand, last weekend Christina and Troy and their friend Misha invited me over for a belated birthday hotpot dinner.  Misha spent time in China and to be invited to hotpot is quite a treat!  Everything goes into the pot...enoki mushrooms, fishballs, noodles, bacon, bok choy, some kind of delicious root, and more that I am forgetting. So delicious!

That night Christina gave me an adorable owl tea towel and mug by SKT ceramics.  She knew I would love them because we named our cats Bubo and Otus after two different owl genera (Bubo virginianus and Otus asio).  In addition she illustrated the gift bag with a drawing of Otus smelling daffodils!  So dang cute!  Plus Troy 3-D printed me a mini watercolor palette. 

“Why did you do all this for me?' he asked. 'I don't deserve it.
I've never done anything for you.'

'You have been my friend,' replied Charlotte.
'That in itself is a tremendous thing.”

― E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

That night I realized Christina's birthday was the following week, so I took a few photos of her cats thinking I might make something cat-related for her .  When I met Christina and Troy they had two cats...Miffy (above center) and Spike.  Spike passed away recently and they adopted two new cats...Conan (above right) and Bob.  Unfortunately Bob died after only a few months.  Conan kept trying to play with senior cat Miffy and she was having none of it.  So they recently adopted Thundarr (another orange tabby boy - above left).  

“One cat just leads to another."

[Letter from Finca Vigia, Cuba, to his first wife, Elizabeth Hadley Richardson (1943).]

― Ernest Hemingway, Selected Letters 1917-1961

The Sketch

The Monday after our dinner I sat down to sketch out ideas for a linocut.  I knew I wanted to make it a standard size so I drew a 5x7 box.  At first I thought I would just draw Christina with the three cats.  Once I finished, I realized it would be more of a square with just her.  So I added her husband Troy in the background (below left).  I ended up liking Troy's sketch and wanted to keep him, but the composition was all wrong.  So I scanned my sketch and brought it into Photoshop to play around with it.  I thought about adding Christina's mom, but in the end I moved Troy to the middle and added some games/books (below middle). 

At this point I got out a 5x7 mat and realized the opening is only 4 1/2 by 6 1/2 inches.  This happens to me EVERY single time.  I also realized that I should leave room at the bottom for my signature.  So I drew a new box and scrunched everybody in (below right).  I also like to have my subject matter break the border line a bit, so it really helps to work it out ahead of time in Photoshop.

I also had a fantasy that maybe I would make this a 4 color print.  I figured I would need black, light orange, dark orange, and green for the chair.  For those of you who aren't printmakers...adding printed colors to the background makes it a lot more complicated.   Your registration has to be perfect and you have to use multiple blocks.  It was a big decision so I decided to mock it up in Illustrator.  

Below you can see my Illustrator drawing.  I am glad I went to the extra trouble to do this step because I realized I would need five colors! (I was missing the blue before).  That was the final straw and I decided to just add color to the black and white print using watercolor.  It is much much easier and I thought I could still achieve the look I desired, which was flat fields of color.

With that decision made I moved on to transferring my design to the block.  Here you can see my pencil sketch on the left which I turned over and burnished onto my Safety-Kut lino block on the right.

It took me almost 2 hours to carve the block.  Of course Bubo had to come over to investigate what I was up to.  

The following video shows me pulling a quick test print using a stamp pad.  Again, there is a special guest appearance.

(Music by Scott Holmes: Amber)

I let the ink dry for two days and then I added color with watercolors.  Watercolor works really well with oil-based ink because the ink repels the water and forces the color to stay inside the lines.

“Madame Lefoux accepted a cup of tea and sat on another little settee, next to the relocated calico cat. The cat clearly believed Madame Lefoux was there to provide chin scratches. Madame Lefoux provided.”

― Gail Carriger, Changeless

I pulled three prints, but the first two had tiny "errors" that I corrected.  So I essentially only had one good print.  This added a little stress as I was painting because I knew I couldn't mess it up.  Luckily I did not.  Below you can see my messy drawing board with shutter stencils behind the prints.  

I framed the print in a simple black frame with a nice thick mat.  Again, Bubo had to come check out the final print and give Miffy and the boys a sniff.  He also provides a good size reference for the piece.

If possible I like to photograph everything outside.  The lighting is much better and there aren't harsh lights reflecting on the glass.

I played games with Christina last night and gave her the print.  I think she liked it.

Happy Birthday Christina!  Wishing you a year filled with joy, purrs, travel and sketching!

“A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg
even though [s]he knows that you are slightly cracked.”

― Bernard Meltzer