Maama Jaama

In our home, for whatever reason, we often refer to things that are large as "maama jaamas". (I spelled this strangely because if I wrote "Mama Jama" I thought you would pronounce it like 'mama' as in slang for your mother, but I went with the Maam spelling because that's how you spell 'maam' as in "yes, maam." and that's the proununciation I want you to go with in this case:)

Anyway...In my little painting world...this is a MAAMA JAAMA. So far it's the biggest I've ever done. 4 feet by 5 feet.


A lot of people will see my paintings and say, "You must really do some neat stuff for your own children." If I've ever said yes to you, then I lied. The nursery has some very hideous safari paintings in them that I did before Jack was born. They were my firsts. They're still hanging there for two reasons:

The reason I tell people: Because it's so sentimental to me that I painted these for my little boy before I ever even met him.
The real reason: There's nothing to replace them and the walls would be bare.

Then there's one fish painting that was a recent mock up for an order I did for someone else...so it's sort of a scrap piece of art. And then there's one in their bathroom that was something that wasn't purchased.

So...it was time to give my best, my best! How could I show these boys of mine that they are my 2 favorite little boys in the world? Well, by painting them a huge map of the US, CLEARLY!

Here's a close up of the states. I went with a more whimsical approach again. It's becoming a friend of mine, I must say. There's freedom in not having your lines be super exact and perfect (which they weren't perfect even when I did try).

It's bold, bright, and is going to be the new theme of our guest room/playroom. We're going with a travel theme since we like to travel and since it's a guest room, our guests will have travelled here to see us! Finn is making the transition into Jack's room, so that they're now sharing. So now we have room for company again!

Here are my two favorite states...For the most part, I didn't intentionally choose the color of the states when I painted them...except for a few. North Carolina was painted with CAROLINA blue because it's obviously the best color God created, it's my alma mater, and the best state ever. South Carolina, my current state of residence is orange, because there's a certain school here that tends to dominate fanhood. AND it's my son's favorite color, so I went with it.

There's nothing particularly touching about Wyoming to me. I just like the letters on it. I've never been to Wyoming, but I've heard it's beautiful. I always picture dude ranches, fly fishing and skiing when I think of that state. These letters looked 'ranchy' to me.

And here's the map lopsided. Because all things look more amazing when they're in lopsided pictures.


So where did I get the idea? I'll give you one guess and you'll probably get it right:



Pottery Barn Kids....again:) I've looked at this painting over and over again, wondering whether or not to buy it, but several things stopped me. It wasn't bright enough, it wasn't bold enough, the white background was blah and it was not a maama jaama. So, as Paula Abdul would tell an American Idol contestant, "I made it my own."

I had to have some more orange, some pink (as I am a lone pink lover in my all boy house), some purple, and a watery looking border since we live at the beach. It's not quite completed, but it's fun to look at. Thought you might like looking at it, too!

Happy July 21st!