I am about to paint the new floorcloth for my dining room. I hesitate to do this because of the 4 floorcloths that I have made for that space, the one that stayed there the longest was about a year and a half. People stop by to see my Gallery, I give them the quick tour of our farmhouse, and they see the floorcloth and want to buy it. It’s OK. It keeps things fresh in there! Here’s the room with one of the previous floorcloths:

This one was really beautiful, but a little too ornate for our old house. The colors are perfect, and I like the bold black and white in the middle, but this time around, I’m doing something a little “earthier”. I’m going to go simple, like checks with a solid border, but the checks might have a little shape to them.

I LOVE this motif:

But I think it might be a little too busy as an all-over design, especially since my plan is to add murals to the walls (after visiting and teaching at the Rufus Porter Museum I haven’t been able to get that idea out of my head). So I’m thinking I’d like to use that 4 petal shape instead of square checks.

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So I fiddled around in Photoshop for a minute and came up with this. I think I’m getting close to what I wanted.

This makes some interesting shapes and is sort of related to my “trademark” checkerboards. I’ll probably play with the colors some more before I actually start laying this out on the floorcloth. I’ll be working fast because I plan to have this on display for the Open House in October! Go ahead… dare me to get this done and then tell me you’re going to come and see it- I work best under pressure!

Tomorrow I’ll show you my finished design lay out.

January 24, 2010.

Sign up  ($40) and participate in the class for the whole day!

Canvasworks’ second online class is all set up and ready for registrants.This is how it will work:

The Design:

This is a 2′ X 3′ floorcloth with cheerful yellow sunflowers and bright green leaves on a simple checked background of blue and gold.

 What you’ll learn:

-How to lay out a diamond checkerboard pattern with a medium wide border

-How to paint and add sponge texture to the gold areas

-How to paint stripes and leaves and apply shading

-How to paint sunflowers (there will be a few variations shown so that you can paint the style which you prefer and feel most comfortable with according to your painting skill level)

-How to finish your floorcloth, install it and take care of it for years to come

The cost:

$40

This fee will give you access to a materials list, templates and access codes for 3 YouTube videos which will demonstrate the painting process. These videos will be posted on You Tube on January 24 and will be available to you for at least a month. On  the 24th, I will be available through this blog and by email to answer your questions at three specified times throughout the day. This is where it becomes  a real painting class. I’ll be there to help you with whatever drawing, layout or painting problems you might be having. After January 24th you can go back and watch the videos and work on your project at your own pace.

Note: You must register online using the button below so that I have your email address to send the templates and access codes.

$40.00 registration fee covers materials list (will be emailed within 24 hrs. of registration), templates , three You tube videos showing all of the steps to make this floorcloth, and question and answer sessions on  Sunday Jan. 24.

In answer to a request from some of my “primitive” friends, you can sign up for  a second color scheme for this class. Use the button below, and we’ll send you the directions for painting it to look like this:

You might want to ask some of your painting friends if they’d like to do this with you. You could gather together and share materials and have fun seeing how each floorcloth progresses. There’s power in numbers!

This is the first (with any luck, first of many) online class I’ve set up. Please let me know if there are things you’d like to see done differently. I hope you will send me pictures of your finished floorcloths. I’d love to share them with all of you!

We’re gearing up for a big celebration this fall. Starting with an Open House on Saturday and Sunday, Oct 3rd and 4th and moving on to three consecutive floorcloth workshops the following week, Canvasworks Studio will be buzzing with activity.

On the weekend, all 3 studios will be open and a variety of demonstrations will be scheduled. The first floor of the 1800s Vermont farmhouse will be open and floorcloths, wall paintings, painted doors, chairs, and lots of other examples of Lisa’s work will be on display for viewing. The Gallery will be chock full of floorcloths for sale as well as kits for do-it-yourselfers and ordering information for those looking to have a custom piece made.

On Saturday night there will be a Wine and Cheese Reception.

Starting on Monday, October 5th, the first of 3 classes will beheld- Basic Beginner Floorcloth Painting

on Tuesday and Wednesday the second class – Beyond Basics of Floorcloth Painting

and on Thursday and Friday we’ll have an Advanced Floorcloth Class, where we’ll go out and sketch the Weathersfield Inn or the Weathersfield Center Church and come back and make a floorcloth out of it.

Check back here for more details about all of these events.

You can do as many of the classes as you like.

Here’s how the pricing and scheduling will work:

Each student will receive a 2′ X 3′ primed and hemmed floorcloth and paints and brushes. If you are doing more than one class, you can use the same floorcloth to continue working on, and you will recieve a 2′ X 3′ blank to take home for each additional class you sign up for. I will get online registration up and running as soon as I can, but if you’d like to pre-register and ensure yourself a place in the class (or classes) you can call (802-263-5410) or email the Studio now to sign up.

The Inn at Weathersfield (5 miles away) has graciously offered a 10% discount if you stay two or more nights. Book early and mention that you are planning to take a class at Canvasworks to get the discount.

Check back here often to get all the latest info.

The last time I painted an artichoke floorcloth I set up the video camera and taped the entire process. Now I’ve edited it and made it available for all to watch. If you like this one I can do more, but be warned, the big floorcloths take a LONG time and they’re not very exciting to watch!

Click on the You Tube link here to view the movie. Don’t forget to pass this along to your friends and feel free to comment on the video!