And to continue, here’s the newest flyer I put together for this new start-up. 
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Orange Blossom Recording Studio Flyer
Orange Blossoms Recording Studio Logo
Though the years I’ve done many logos for new companies. I especially like this newest one for a young, musically talented, friend. I wish him loads of luck.
A little nip & tuck. Sometimes photo alteration is just making it correct.
The original is fish eyed and unflattering especially to the ladies on the edges. Here I did some copy, transform warp in PS to achieve a photo that’s more true. Looking good. 
The Face of Santa Ana College, Be Brave
Never avoid something new because it’s scary. I went back to school at the ripe old age of (cough), well let’s just say I easily could be mom to most of these kids. It WAS scary but so MUCH FUN! I now have my 3D Modeling and Animation Certificate and am loving it. SAC recently interviewed me as an important part of their demographic, “the returning student”. The fun thing is that they stuck my face on their homepage. Check out http://www.sac.edu.(Santa Ana College), on the first page, the main picture on the front. On the bottom right of that picture are page numbers. If you go to page 3 and wait for 4 seconds, my face pops up. If you click on my picture when it pops up, it takes you to a write-up and one of the paragraphs is my mini-interview. Huh….who would’ve thought?
Fairy Door Decor, just the right touch.
I am just loving these Fairy Doors. My client bought this beautiful tiny door for her daughter’s room and I painted a scene to match the decor mural. How much fun is that? 
Another Infamous Gift Caricature!
So, here’s another gift caricature for a friend. It looks like this guy won’t be letting retirement slow him down. I may have erased some pertinent items for public viewing. Yeah, I’m not giving out his name or where he worked, but enjoy the caricature. I sure enjoyed drawing it.
Sepia Tone Photo with a little Colorizing. Beautiful Blue Eyed Tot.
A friend took this black and white photo of her beautiful little toddler. What a shot! He’s so pretty, I just had to play with it. Added a sepia tone, upped the contrast slightly and added a bit of pink in the cheek and a blue tinge to his collar. Not to mention those gorgeous blue eyes. What fun it is to be able to play with Photoshop like this. BTW, she’s having it printed on canvas. 
Brighten your Day by Brightening Your Photo
This is just another photo adjustment for some dear friends. I’d much rather play with brightening or restoring photos then do my homework. *sigh…
back to work.
Special Gift: Like Daddy, Like Son
As a gift to her husband, my client wanted to put her little boy’s picture on the same back ground as her husbands same age picture. With the exception of her being blond and his coloring being a little different, they look JUST ALIKE. Clean up the old picture, change the background on the new one and, what a nice gift to present to her man.
Photo Restoration: Tiny Pic from ’58 Needs a Little Clean-Up.
Wow…a little know-how and my friends think I’m amazing. This is a dear friend that I’ve known since High School, and her brothers. Such a sweet picture. I can’t make it perfect and I prefer to leave some of the cracks and age marks to keep its integrity. I discovered that if I go too far, it looks plastic and fake. Nice, huh? It warms my heart to be able to restore most of this little gem for my friend.
Dana Point Ocean Awareness Day: Teaching Miniature Artists to Paint Big
Last weekend I had the opportunity to teach miniature Michalangelos to paint a mural on a banner. Once the banner was full we moved to large paper. I expected to have to help draw, stimulate, and instruct but I was pleasantly wrong. Even the tiniest of these aspiring muralists knew what they wanted to paint and what colors to use. That doesn’t mean I didn’t stick my nose in to encourage color mixing and line work. Even after all of these years I’m still amazed at the ability and creativity of kids. It does my heart good.
Book Illustrations: Winning the Battle for Attention
I’m in print! How exciting! Stuart Atkins, the author of this little gem hired me to draw a couple of little black & whites and we had so much fun with it, it turned into 23 illustrations. He was kind enough to thank me in his acknowledgments and place my name on a page of my own. Nice work. Of all the books and magazines I’ve illustrated, I can honestly say this book is well worth a read for anyone with a website. Good Job, Stu.
Decorative Table, Koi Pond, Hand Painted Decor
I picked up a plain display post from a store going out of business. Sat and looked at it for a couple of weeks and decided to paint it to look like rocks. Well….if I’m going to have a rock post, I may as well have a Koi pond in it. All I need to do now is put a piece of glass on top and TaDa! How fun is that?
Book Illustrations: TIPS.
Just rehashing an oldie but goodie from 2002. Just one of 22 illustrations for this book. The lady that wrote this, Tricia Spencer WON Best Nonfiction Book in an International Manuscript Competition. I like to think that my cartoons helped.
Family Christmas Cards.
These were our Christmas Cards a couple of years ago. I drew them easily and cut different pieces of fabric to glue on the scarves. I haven’t had time to make cards since then and won’t have time this year either, I don’t think. Hummmm….now I have to think about it.
Redecorating: the Ultimate Marriage Test.
I’ve been painting murals in beautiful homes for over 20 years. Why can’t I come up with the right color to paint my walls? Arghh!
Spider Cookies! Halloweeeeeen.
Nailed it! For real. Thank you to Sommer Collier for posting this on Pinterest. You can find the directions on her site, aspicyperspective.com.
TurtleRock Whimsical Clock Signs
How much fun are these? Just a little bit of whimsy for my favorite pre-school, TurtleRock. They’re little signs to go under four clocks on the wall to convey different time zones. I wonder what time it is in Whoville?
Beatrix Potter – Peter Rabbit and Friends – Nursery Mural
This Peter Rabbit nursery is just what I love to paint: soft, sweet, alive, and timeless. Immersing myself into these 20 characters and their surrounding, while listening to my audio books, I revitalized my soul. My clients have become fast friends and I’ll cherish the joy of this room with them for many more grandchildren to come. This is exactly why I chose to do what I do. You can see more detail pictures on my website www.jmeillustrations.com. in the “Baby’s Nursery” gallery.
Unique and Personal Gift. Caricature with all the Trimmings
I believe adding personal touches to a caricature is what makes it special. Not just the drawing itself but all of the little chachki that’s meaningful. It took some time and reconnaissance in order to capture these personal effects and after some investigation, I’m certain Victor is going to LOVE this piece of art created especially for him. I can’t wait to hear his reaction!
Coin Operated Horse Kiddy Ride Restoration
This is a baby gift. How much more fun can you get? My friend had this horse in her family for over 40 years. Her own children loved, loved, loved it and rode the tar out of it. Now there’s a new grandbaby. (He’s beautiful btw). I got to repaint the horse while my handy husband reworked the coin box and wiring. It’s painted with acrylic and coated with 3 coats of polyurethane. It has new bit hinges and metallic paint on the horn and rings. YeeHaw….we ride again!
Retirement Caricature Gift
Once you learn how to draw caricatures it opens your eyes to a whole new world. I see people as cartoons. Don’t worry, it’s not just you, it’s everybody. People are just plain funny looking. This is a retirement caricature for a dear friend. It’ll be printed for the invitations and notifications, then it’ll be framed and given to him as a gift during his party. Don’t you just love it?
Repairing a Precious Piece of Family History. Fixing Pencil Drawing
This was drawn in the 50’s by the father of my friend’s wife. He asked me to repair it so he could frame it and give it to his wife for Christmas. What a thoughtful gift. The bugs got to it and the paper was yellow and fragile. I couldn’t go any farther without doing more damage or changing integrity of the original art. I’m honored that he would trust me with such a precious piece of family history.
Castle Mural Repair _ Fedde Middle School
The original artist wasn’t available to repaint this mural after years of south facing sun. He had done a very nice job but now it needed a little TLC. I opted to change the horse and Knight and keep everything else the same. My minions and I spent 8 days painting on this hot rooftop. We weren’t able to stay up there past 1:00 due to the oppressive heat. A long and difficult job, and I’m glad it’s done.
Seraphim Angel Mural, with Musical Strings
After some personal heartache I found myself immersed in this perfect mural. Painting these Seraphim angels renewed my soul and gave me peace. I want to thank my patient friend for letting me create this artwork; it will always hold a place in my heart.
Kim’s ATA Black Belt Taekwondo Logo. Logo Mural
This work is gratis in order to promote my work to all of the other Dojo’s. It’s crisp, sharp logo was wonderful to paint in a semi-gloss. Although I’m still not sold on Dun-Edwards paints, their black was nice to work with. Plus I really wanted to try my new Modern Masters Silver metallic paint. Wonderful coverage and lovely to work with. While there, I got to see some of the tiny martial artist’s that fill the class begin their routines. I’ve got to tell you, watching a 4 yr old in miniature Gui, preforming controlled jumps and thrusts is pretty darn cute.
Murals to Enhance Science, Engineering and Math
This is Starbase, an extra curricular 5 day class (free btw) in Engineering, Science, and Math. Having seen all the exciting hands-on activities makes me wish my kids were still young. In fact, it makes me wish I was young. It’s designed for 5th grade and an excellent opportunity for schools, scouts, and Home-school groups. My murals helped enhance the enthusiastic atmosphere.
Fond Memories of Drive-In Theaters. Car Mural
This is one of my most unique murals, in a little bathroom adjacent to a home theater. My buddy (Hi Steve) is installing a car door on one wall, complete with a drive-in speaker in the window. Yes….a real one! My mural helps give the illusion of being at the drive in with the snack bar, and…oh do you remember those old playgrounds with swing sets for us kids? My favorite part to paint was the 54′ Seafoam Green Buick Skylark, a copy of the one in this homes garage. Sweet.
I’m looking forward to taking pictures of the completed room with light fixture, counter, mirror, and of course the car door. What fun.
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We had Cerrito’s Police helicopters checking us out. Can’t blame them. It was midnight and I was drawing on the gym wall. That’s o.k., I just waved, and after a few minutes they realized I was legit.
BIG Wall Mural. School murals and Painting on rooftops….yicks.
BIG Wall Mural. School murals and painting on roofs.
Good Grief….my walls are getting bigger all the time. Although I love the red, it still needs the highlights so I’ll repost once done. I climbed a 16′ ladder to get on the roof and painted on a 6′ once there. The ladder you see in the picture is only 4′. All supplies and ladders needed to be hauled up and down each day. Next step….scissor lift.
Wine Cellar Mural, the Perfect Balance of Art and Fermentation
I spent 5 days in this charming wine cellar painting the sky and these grapes in their 4 seasons. The mural begins with a bare stem sporting only a few small new leaves. Turning the corner are some flowering buds that are starting to fruit. The fruit developes into Pino grapes, green with speckles. The grapes show veraison as they change color until the last wall is full of deep purple clusters. These clusters round the room back to the begining bare vines where the dead brown leaves float to kiss the new growth. This room was enchanting and a real delight to paint.
Golf Mural – Pebble Beach in One Day. Gift mural
I discovered that it costs a fortune for exterior stucco paint but it’s WELL worth it. That stuff stayed on my hands for 3 days. I’m certain it’ll never come off of this wall. Vista Paint! Great stuff.
This sweet gal found my website www.jmeillustrations.com and hired me to paint this mural of Pebble beach to add ambiance to her husbands putting green in the back yard as his Christmas gift. What a clever and unique gift.
The best part of this gig were the young kids that would sneak out to chat with me. They never got in the way or distracted me but were very entertaining. They told me that their dad is a champion golfer (cough), wanted to know if the paint was dry, (I hope it finally came off his finger), asked what I was drinking (diet coke), and how many times I had to go to the bathroom. Kids crack me up.
Distinguished School Mural, Large Enough to be Seen Forever.
This mural had to be big enough to been seen from the street beyond a grassy field. The Kennedy name is 30″ lettering and the Elementary School is 15″ high. I had trouble with the paint bubbling after the sprinklers hit it, so it took one tough day extra. Scraping, sanding, and new paint, but came out beautifully. Now I working on a 6′ round wooden sign with the Distinguished School logo to be bolted onto the brick face of the school MPR.
Science Lab DNA Mural, school mural.
Another great mural for my favorite school, Tetzlaff magnet middle school in Cerritos. This is a wonderful atmosphere to learn in and I’m so proud to have been able to paint this DNA ladder. It may be hard to read the quotes but they were chosen from people who have made significant contributions to the world of science. I love each and every one.
A Special Place for Mom, Soft and Pretty. Swirls on the Walls
My mother-in-law is living in a lovely Independent Living apartment and I made even nicer by softening the decor with my swirly mural. We worked all day to get the swirls just the way she likes them and we’re both pretty happy with the results. I especially love the green wall with the clock that was a gift from a special friend.
Beach Vacation Mural
This mural is 12.5 feet x 5.5 feet in a young girls room. It was a redo after a series of unfortunate events involving the original mural. I admire the contractor, Jason Welch, for handling the situation in a professional manner doing everything he could to repair the situation. The homeowners turned out to be lovely people and a pleasure to work with…..thank you for the flowers. Yes, they even sent me flowers after the job was done. A first, and it truly astonished me. After 20 years, the people I come in contact with in this job continue to surprise me. Don’t you just love it?
3D Texturing and Lighting. Reconstruction Outdoor Crime Scene.
This outdoor scene is a continuation of my 3D Crime Scene, Bank Shooting Reconstruction posted on April 6, 2012. I custom created all models and lighting, with the exception of the cars supplied by SAC. The Mental Ray Daylight system is set to 4pm and there are 3 Standard Omni lights within the building. Texture, Specular, Normal, and Alpha maps were created using original photos I collected, Google images, and CGTextures.com.
The purpose of this scene is to demonstrate the use of creative lighting, unwrapping objects and proper use of texture map atlases to produce a realistic and credible environment.
For my friends that have no idea what that means…..no worries. Two years ago, I wouldn’t have either. It’s been an amazing process. Be sure and scroll down to see the night lit scene including red and blue lights eminating from the police vehicles.
3D Crime Scene, Bank Shooting Reconstruction.
This award winning, fictional crime scene reconstruction is based on similar and true events. It does not depict any actual persons, places, or incidents. This is a detail shot of a full scene created for educational purposes.
This is an overview of the interior of the bank.
Crime Scene Reconstruction, Bullet Path, 3D Animation, Forensic Recreation
I still have some things I’d like to change in this project and maybe I’ll get to it during the holidays. I learned a great deal and am excited to do more. 3DMax and the animation is an amazing tool.
Be warned that this has some graphic photos.
Trojan School Mascot Mural; Tetzlaff Middle School
Here’s the completed Tetzlaff’s Trojan mascot sign and name sign. The school maintenance people coated them with anti-graffiti and bolted them onto the brick. I want to thank my friends that had trucks for hauling, and the woodworking teacher for cutting them so perfectly to my specifications. They were more work then I expected but came out as well as I imagined. Now I’m drafting quotes for artwork in the auditorium and science lab. But first I need to slog through all of the ABC District purchasing paperwork.
Do you see my initials “JME” in the trojan?
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Greek Keys in Stone.
I donated a custom mural to the Assistance League of Orange silent auction and was “won” by a sweet lady proud of her Greek heritage. She decided on Greek Keys as stone around her unique rounded doorway. I’m always amazed at the people I meet. She was eclectic and classy with two of the funniest dogs I’ve ever met. I couldn’t help but to immediately like her.
Here are the before and after:
School Murals; We The People mural. Basketball mural and Globe
Finished with Tetzlaff’s walls. I’m actually going to miss some of those people. I still have signs to do so I can get one last hug.
Scientific Mural; Microscope, DNA, Atom, and Robotic Arm
This is wall 2 of Tetzlaff Middle School. It’s my NERD WALL. Don’t get me wrong, I married a nerd. Best ever! They’re the people that keep this world going in the right direction. Geeks RULE!
This was a lot of fun to paint. I got a little confused with the DNA strand but figured it out. The silver paint on the robotic arm enhances the feel of metal and the bright colors on the DNA make the whole thing pop.
Green Frog Mural. Tetzlaff School.
This is my current gig. Tetzlaff Middle School mural. I’ll paint on 4 walls and two wooden signs. The book has their Peace Builder Pledge painted. What a dynamic and progressive school. The staff has so much pride in everything they do, it makes me wish my kids were young. Being able to paint this mural has been a real pleasure.
