where the deer and the squirrels play

This is what I've been up to the last couple of nights. Our room doesn't get much natural light, so it's difficult to photograph. Brown wall is all matte paint (varnish look is glare).



the before shot:


How it was executed: flat latex brown rolled on wall first. After dry (I waited a couple nights to be sure), I penciled in the general outlines using a straight edge. I then mixed a small quantity of gray paint to leftover brown to tint (3 varying shades). I then just started painting away using mostly 1-2 inch brushes and smaller for limbs.

What I would have done differently: I didn't work from a plan so one of the darker limbs overlaps a lighter trunk which distorts the perspective. It is supposed to look flat and graphic, so I don't think it matters that much, but it still irritates me. I have a tendency to dive into projects.

Why: Because I wanted the look of wallpaper without having to commit or pay for it. The deer head was a recent gift and was lost when hung above our headboard in the large expanse of taupe (taupe - not pink as appears on screen). Adding the trees created an environment for the head as well as draws the eye up, making our ceiling appear higher. Plus, the dark tones separate the wall from our little platform bed headboard.

What's next: Repaint adjacent wall taupe. Original plan was to have the one brown wall behind our headboard. We painted before we purchased the bed. We then assembled bed and realized it wouldn't fit on intended wall, so we moved the bed to the taupe wall and hoped for the best.