Well, it’s winter, and we had a long weekend. So we did what anyone would do. That’s right, paint a mural in the kitchen. What? You mean you didn’t do that? It’s all the rage, at least at our house it is. I pulled out some wall paint we have from painting around the house and some old paint and hobby brushes and just started painting. It was all done in a very loose way to capture a feel, rather than be a photo realistic painting. That’s my excuse for the smudge style, and I am sticking to it.
A bunch of old paint from the basement, and the transom from Thayer IV on the opposite wall from the mural.
I did the bulk of it a while back over a weekend and this weekend finished it off with some buildings and boats. The mural is filling a horrible blank soffit area that was a deadly black hole of nothingness. This way when you walk into the kitchen you get a view of the Reedville area on Cockrell’s Creek the way I see it. Each boat is an actual boat that is here by the way.
Thats Andy Cockrels cool Matthews right in front of Reedville
NO WAKE! The little white square on the red building is huge and been there for years..Decades, and no one pays attention to it. The locals want to keep the area wake OK..
Wendell, AKA”Pop” on the dock at his home and , Matthews Martinique “Seaboard” in her boat house.
The soffit was just wood panels. Thats the Reedville stack and the Reedville Fishermen’s Museums Skipjack “Claud W. Somers”and Yannon
Jim Scott in Yannon says high! In paint, on our wall!
Working the corner was a bit of a trick
The Elva C one of the nicest Buyboats on the bay! Belongs to the Reedville Fishermans Museum and you can go for rides
One of the countless wood “still in use” Deadrise boats headed out to fish and crab
So there ya have it, no boat shows or restorations, just kitchen Woodyness now. I think we have officially reached the end of things to talk about, considering the kitchen sink is involved.
Staining for the final touch of aged look. This way I can’t be blamed for the mess. The effect from about 10 feet away is great and feels like its been there for a long time.
Some perspective on size
Right at home with a complete set of Woodystock Posters.
By the way, registration for the Sunnyland show is now open, sign up soon and often. Click HERE
Cliff
Two words, Bob Ross.
matt
HAHAHA! I swear I channeled him! A nice little bird here! And a little creek.. You nailed it.
Bob Kays
Matt, that is amazing. I get away with a lot of woody boat stuff around the house, but I don’t think I could invade the kitchen !
Do you travel??? Is the ceiling next?
Chris B
Now that could only be the home of Mr. Woody Boater. Fantastic!
Ken
Did u miss your calling? Very well done!
Greg Lewandowski
That way tops my framed picture of Sugar Lady over the family room mantle. I can hardly wait to show Marianne how we can redecorate the kitchen. What a great Christmas present for the Boatress!
jim bell
Very cool Matt. You have given me inspiration to add a mural in my new Chandlery. Awesome work.
Ronald
I’m impressed, we have a lady in our area from Cuba that paints wall murals of your subjects, maybe you need a 3rd job traveling around doing this,
Matt
The goal, was to make it look like a homeowner back in the late 50’s did it. Primitive stuff rather than any fancy anything. Aging it really helped distance myself from it.
Jimmuh
That’s what I was getting alright…..American Primitive!
m-fine
Wow! I barely have enough skill to paint it one solid color!
John Rothert
Damn Matt, you never cease to amaze/amuse me! That is really special….and I never really knew where your place on the creek was until you said looking across toward the Gables was your view….and then there is Wendell’s….
I can’t paint a fence with a roller….or rather won’t….
I won’t even try to paint my cruiser…
good story…thanks for sharing and Happy New Year….
John in Va.
Alex
It’s cool and I’m sure was a delight to do, Matt. Murals, whether self-done, or commissioned, are so personal.
Troy in ANE
I am some glad I was able to get back into this Internet world in time to see this! That is AWESOME!
What I love the most is that You did it, not just paying someone to come in and put up a mural, and the fact that everything means something to you and your family.
Love It!!
Mike K
beutiful art! i am waiting for the day you take it down and post it on ebay.
speaking of the sunnyland show, i am renting in house in ft myers starting that sat. i plan on bringing one of my boats, would it be worth it to stop by late friday or sat morning. drop my boat and boat around for a few hours? i’d be glad to take any for rides etc.
Wilson
Mike:
Not sure where you are coming from…but if Dora anywhere on your way….Yes…Stop…Putt around the lake..Go thru the Dora Canal and maybe lunch at one of the local spots on the lake. Do it !
mike k
Thanks
Gonna try coming from chicago so not too far out of the way
The admiral wont drive that far so maybe ill meet her in orlando or just have the boys and meet her in ft myers
Captain Nemo
Way cool Matt. I think you can consider yourself part of the impressionist school of art. Nice work.
Kelly Wittenauer
Wow! This is fabulous. You are very talented. So cool that the boats in it are ones that actually roam the waters there.
dreed
Did the boatress approve that? Now all you need is a vintage wooden boat coffee mug to enjoy your morning coffee and view the scenery.
TommyHolmThomasholm
Mattelangelo, so many kitchens and boathouses and workshops await your brush. Go forth and paint my captain.
Michaelangelo
Ineedassistant
Dennis Mykols
Matt, you never cease to amaze me, you are one talented young man…
Nautilus
Great job! It looks so good, it looks like I did myself! By the way, I spotted the cruiser as a Matthews from the photo where the boat was quite small. If you can paint a Matthews to look like a Matthews, you really did miss your calling. When can you come down to do my kitchen?
thomas d.
nice but how did you manage to get thayer 4’s transom?
matt
The transom was a gift from Seth at Katz’s Marina as was the US Mail Boat transom to Jim Scott. When they had to be replaced we asked for them to preserve the find.
Bill Anderson
This is the bathroom at the shop,it is a pic at local lake as if you are standing at the spillway, with Eriks G3 and my Barnes,note the horns we use for towel rack they are hooked up in other room with 200 pounds of air,works well
Bill Anderson
Horns,, the little bathroom has a lot of unique ness in it
WoodyGal
Love it! Not surprised you can paint, everything else you do has the sensibility of and artist. Were you channeling your mother?
matt
I was chaneling Bob Ross!
Wilson
Matt:
Wow !…Impressive….Our kitchen at the coast is almost identical….Except my wife has the area above the cabinets filled with baskets she has collected…
You want to stop by on your way to Dora and paint a muriel for us ?…Al and Karen Benton will be here. ..but there is plenty of room
Wilson Wright
I showed the mural to my wife and she said she thought I had surpassed my limitations when I stained the back steps several weeks back.
Dick Dow
Matt, that is really incredible! What a perfect way to decorate a ‘dead space” and commemorate the local scene. How long before we can qualify your kitchen for the National Register of Historic Places? Well done!
Two questions: 1) How are your neck and shoulders holding up after all that? and 2) Is it just me or do I see the “ghost of Snoopy” at the lower right in the header, on the table… ? 🙂
Randy & Ginger Clark
We are officially impressed!!! Very cool
Sandi in ANE
That is awesome! Can’t believe you did that with house paint…
Better than Bob Ross in my opinion.
floyd r turbo
So I assume this option was nixed??
floyd r turbo
Seriously tho, that is great looking mural and an ideal solution to that location. Nicely done Matt. Have you been sneaking night courses at SCAD while we weren’t looking?
Chad
That is great!
You have mad skills, my friend.
Texx
Very impressive artwork Matt… the scale is perfect.
Grant Stanfield
Nice job, Matt…you really are multi-talented. This is a great way to make sense of kitchen soffits…I’ve been busy tearing mine down but maybe a panoramic scene is just the thing!
(Do you make house calls, Dr?)
Walt
Matt, wonderful mural. Did the paint smell as good as varnish? What music do you listen to when you paint murals?
Cobourg Kid
Matt it was a great treat to flip to WB today; who knew that behind that frenzied blog editor and photoshop maven lurked an introspective fresco artist with a dab hand for painting in the American primitive style.
Your work looks very much like a scene that Anna Mary Robertson (Grandma Moses) might have brought to life on a canvas, had she lived on the banks of the Chesapeake.
Simple realism, nostalgic atmosphere and luminous colour all stuff that she (and noted Canadian maritime artist Maud Lewis) so loved.