Painter Works Her Magic

Transforming A Bedroom Into A Fairy Landscape

By Nancy K. Crevier

“Just being able to work locally and do something I love, I feel remarkably blessed,” said Bek Meyers, a self-taught artist and decorative painter who has been sharing her talents with residential homeowners and local businesses for the past five years.

Ms Meyers, who lives in Newtown with her husband, Bob, and two sons, John and Matt, is a Certified Professional Painter/Faux Finish Decorator who specializes in murals, and pet and home portraits.

Local residents may have caught glimpses of her work, since she is responsible for the large nighthawk that adorns the shed at Taylor Field behind Hawley School, large jungle mural that sprawls across the walls of Fitness Loft off of Route 25, and was key in carrying out the decorative painting for the kitchen display and exterior entrance at Zemel’s Appliance on Route 6 in Danbury. Most recently, she completed a mural for the MacDonald family in Sandy Hook that she said is her favorite to date.

Sally Lynn MacDonald, an artist herself, had started out to paint a fairy scene in her daughter’s bedroom, but when she won a $500 gift certificate for a Bek Meyers mural at the Canine Advocate’s Putting On The Dog fundraiser this fall, she jumped on the chance to have the talented fellow artist rework and complete the project as a birthday gift for her nine-year-old daughter, Brianna.

“Sally’s daughter loved fairies, so we knew it would be a fairy theme,” said Ms Meyers. The inspiration for the graceful sprites that flit upon every wall in the room now was Brianna’s favorite book, In The Realm Of The Never Fairies. “The paintings are based upon the characters, and while fairies are actually teeny little things, the murals I created are life-sized,” Ms Meyers said.

From the familiar Disney Tinkerbell fairy perched on graceful leaves to miniature fairies racing on the backs of frogs, she created a number of vignettes that flow together through two themes that resonate with Brianna — fairies and frogs — over a 15-hour period. “I absolutely loved the results,” Ms Meyers said.

“I love fairies and I love frogs. I have about 15 stuffed frogs and lots of fairy books,” said Brianna. Ms Meyers spent a good amount of time talking with her about what she liked and didn’t like before painting the mural in her room, said Brianna. “We looked at my books and picked out my favorites,” said Brianna.

“Bek was so in tune to what Brianna wanted and really seemed to enjoy herself while she was painting,” said Sally MacDonald. “She had great ideas about what to do. There are very few people who show up when they say they will to do a job and do quality work. Bek was even willing to take direction from Brianna, and after all, it is Brianna’s room,” Ms MacDonald said.

She was very pleased to receive the gift certificate for Ms Meyers’ mural, said Ms MacDonald, who added that even though their irreplaceable, 15-year-old “Puppa” died last summer leaving the family without a dog, they continue to support the Canine Advocates.

“We always go to their events. I think the only thing a person needs to support the dog pound is a love for animals. It’s nice to support something so grassroots and while a lot of the auction items tend toward dog owners, there are always some other items for non-dog owners. We saw the gift certificate for Bek’s mural and knew that there was the answer to our problem of how was I going to do this painting in Brianna’s room,” she said.

Formerly a retail buyer for Nordstrom’s Department Store, decorative painting is Ms Meyer’s second career. “I have always been artistic. I’ve always loved to draw and paint. When I left the corporate world to raise my boys, I started doing decorative painting at home and for my friends.” She found that she loved it so much that she decided to take it on as a full-time job.

Ms Meyers was certified by The Finishing School in New York, but it is through her personal research and natural creativity that she has developed her own style that allows her to create murals customized to each client’s taste. Her jobs have found her balancing 40 feet off of the ground to reach the highest peak of a foyer and lying flat on her back atop scaffolding to place her special magic across the face of a ceiling.

Her faux painting techniques allow her to turn at tired piece of furniture into a work of art or make a too-new table take on an antiqued look. Every one of her clients is given individual attention whether it is the popular metallic glazing on walls, lime washing, marbling, distressed finishes that they desire, or a trompe l’oeil painting that fools the eye.

While there are commercial products available for faux finishes, Ms Meyers prefers to mainly use products available only to certified painters. “The products were designed by a chemist to improve upon commercially available paints and glazes,” said Ms Meyers, who feels that the products give her work a superior result.

Whether it is the product or Ms Meyer’s talent, Brianna is in agreement that the results are spectacular in her be-fairyed room.

“I was so surprised when I opened my door and saw the fairy behind my door. I never saw anything so beautiful in my life,” said Brianna.

The gift certificate donation to Canine Advocates has been a winning situation all around, hopes Ms Meyers. She was able to help raise money for a worthy cause, please a client, bring a smile to a child’s face, and have some fun herself doing what she loves best: painting.