The creative and playful mind is a wonderful thing. And if I had to think of one person who personifies that kind of thinker – I would always think of my father first! He’s been creating and inventing things as long as I’ve known him, and it’s a lot of fun to watch. As many of you regular readers know my preschooler and I recently visited his home in Georgia, it’s the farmhouse beautifully decorated by my stepmother that I shared on an earlier post.
Anyway, on this particular trip my dad had been thinking about wanting to make a 3D Mural on the side of his barn. By the time I arrived he had found bits and bobs of metal and scraps to create a Tractor that seemed to be driving right off the barn wall! With a metal cutter he had sliced off a side of an actual car that had been abandoned and fastened it to the side of the barn as well.
Here is a photo that shows just some of the scrap parts he used to create the 3D looking Tractor…
What was left was to paint a scene around the two vehicles, something relaxing. This particular side of the barn faces a large side yard, that has rows of vegetables growing and then leads to a mostly wild expanse of vegetation. My dad said that as he mowed that side yard it always nagged him that it was just a plain red side. Nothing going on, just blocking the view of the other side of the farm. This mural was his way of brightening up those afternoons he spends mowing – with a beautiful locale he could imagine himself in instead!
After several trips to the store for water based exterior paint, we got to work. All the artistic design was my dads, but I was lucky enough to get to help fill in some of the colors. It was great to spend time with him working on a project and to see the idea in his mind take shape in front of me…
For the next 5 days, we spent several hours each day working on the barn mural project. One small and beautiful detail that my dad added to the side of the tractor was a serial Id number, and an Irish style License plate on the back of the tractor – they both feature my daughters name and birth date. Isn’t he a sweet grampie to do that?! What a fun detail for pumpkin to discover some year in the future when she can read!
And here is the finished Barn Mural… I LOVE it! But not as much as I loved spending time on it with my creative and inventive dad:)
PS. Bonus points if you find the Irish cottage in the mural 😉
About Shannon SchmidShannon traded in her sensible NYC TV producer shoes (they were best for taking the subway), for a pair of Texas Cowboy boots when she married her best friend! He's at fault for making this Yankee a Texan! Shannon writes about all things that make a house a home. Her chief blogging inspiration is being the proud & slightly neurotic mom of a preschool age daughter.
You can find Shannon on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and her new favorite place to hang out, Google+.
That is fantastic! I was married to an artist for 40 years and I love a creative mind. Your dad is Kewl! 😉
@Diana Ward, Thanks Diana! I agree- he is super creative and def kewl! 😉
That is fantastic! So creative and fun
@katie, Thanks Katie- I love it too!!
I LOVE this!! Your dad is so much fun – so creative and so talented! And the apple certainly did not fall far from the tree 🙂
@Laura, Aww, you are sweet! I would be lucky to have half his creativity and know how! 🙂
This is TOO cool! Your Dad is so talented, you probably inheritated that from him. What a nice barn, I’m very impressed! He is an artist for sure.
That is fantastic!! Incredibly clever! What a cool Dad!
omg, i love that!! So cool!! 🙂
I like the fact you got to help and spend quality time with your dad on this project. No matter how old you get, you are never too old to hang out with you daddy.
good idea! 🙂
That is really cool! I would love to see it in real life! You all did an amazing job!
WOW! This is awesome. He is very creative!
What a great idea Love it 🙂
Awesome! Your dad is really creative! 🙂
This is so adorable! But, I cannot for the life of me find the cottage – where is it?
I am impressed at the art creativity! Looks fabulous and I would love to be able to create a mural that would stop traffic.
The creativity in this particular “Barn Art” is so beautiful… and so much detail. The talent is very well displayed in this “Barn Art.”
This is SO neat!