About the Artist

My name is Barbara Gips and I have always loved art. I was always either drawing or painting or making something as a child. I majored in art and design in college. And even though some of the jobs throughout my career have not been artistic in nature, I would always find a creative outlet like making and selling jewelry or decoupage flower pots on the side.

Then, nine years ago, after my third child turned one year old, I decided to try faux painting to spruce up our townhouse kitchen and I was hooked. In another year or so, we moved into our own home. The house needed a lot of TLC, but all I could see was the clean slate of wall space that I could transform with color and texture. Before every room in the house had been reborn I already new that this was the career path I wanted to take. And that's when I started to turn my passion into a business.

In addition to texturing walls, I love painting murals and trompe l'oeil (pronounced tromp loy, it means to fool the eye), stenciling and free hand painting.

A couple of years ago, after we had the exterior of our house painted (I hired someone for that job) I noticed how unattractive our mailbox was. Then I noticed how unattractive most mailboxes are. That's when I started painting mailboxes; the most overlooked home accessory! When someone drives up to your house, what's the first thing people see? Your mailbox! So why not make it something you want them to notice.

I hope you enjoy browsing through the samples of my work and that it inspires you to contact me to discuss how I can help beautify your home or business. Keep checking back for new samples!