Chalkboards

Well, things have been very quiet on the Art & Inspiration front for quite a while I know! I have been very busy with the biggest personal project I have ever undertaken in the form of The Waki Way motor home refurb, but I am still open to commission when required. So although I've not felt a sudden rush of inspiration to grab paint and brushes, a friend of mine at The Swan Hotel in Bedford asked me to design and paint their advertising chalkboards for their new bar area which has been a really enjoyable experience and definitely given me some inspiration for future money making!

I'd never done boards before but I'll try my hand at anything really so was interesting if not a little scary, as I didn't know what the previous board art quality was like that I had to outdo.I quickly got to researching the net for chalkboard artists and any tips they might have!

They wanted the boards doing for the Jublilee weekend so wanted the standard red, white and blue colours along with a swan featured somewhere on there of course! I thought the swan would look good swimming proud on the coloured waves with a crown on, and kept the rest of the design simple with bold white lettering. I also couldn't resist including the Union Jack on the arrow board, inspired perhaps by the beginning Dads Army!

Using the special chalk markers took a little getting used to but I soon got into it and they had enough of a colour range of pens to be able to get a few parts highlighted, though the large areas of red and blue took a while as those colour pens were quite fine nibbed so I just had to keep scribbling and shaking them! In all I had to do both sides of two A-boards and the large board next to the bar hatch itself, which took me three evenings after work including the first day of meeting and designing.

I'm pleased with the results, and The Swan staff seem to be as well which is the main thing (I just hope the 'shower-proof' pens survive our typical Bank Holiday weather!). My friend has asked me if I would be happy to do future amendments or any touch ups, and I know that I can only get better - especially with a bigger range of colours and some new pens next time.

So a big thank you should go to John Neal, whose chalkboard art videos on You Tube gave me so much good advice, and also to Andrew from The Swan Hotel in Bedford for giving me the opportunity in the first place! I couldn't ask for a better location for my first publicly displayed artwork! :)