Lauren Stringer
Painting Windows
Painting the window at Red Balloon Book Shop. March 2005
On a sunny day in March announcing Fold Me A Poem to the world!
I am fortunate to live in a part of the country where books are alive and well! There are many places in the Twin Cities that honor and nourish books and the people that make them. Among these places is a wonderful independent children’s book store in St. Paul called The Red Balloon Book Shop. They know how to celebrate books!
The Red Balloon Book Shop has a wonderful ten foot tall window that they offer to illustrators to paint whenever they have a new book coming out. The first time I painted it, Fold Me A Poem was just being published. I love painting big and I don’t mind climbing on ladders or shelves or hanging upside down from the balcony to paint. Now every time I have a new book come out, I call up the Red Balloon to reserve the window for painting!
Drawing for Winter is the Warmest Season window.
Winter is the Warmest Season window seen from inside the store. It changed a little from the drawing, can you tell?
Winter is the Warmest Season window seen from outside the store.
Because I enjoy painting the window so much, the Red Balloon has invited me to paint their window for special occasions. In the pictures below, I am painting the “Magic” window for the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and two years later I came back to paint the window for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Painting the window for the Red Balloon’s Harry Potter Party.
The “magic” window for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
The “magic” window for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
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Snow window at the Red Balloon, November 2008.
Snow window seen from inside the store.
When I painted the window for SNOW, the window was featured in Publisher’s Weekly!
Painting the 25th Anniversary Window!
Last year I was invited to paint the poster for the 25th anniversary of The Red Balloon Bookshop. What an honor it was! Then when the anniversary was celebrated in November of 2009, I was asked to paint the window to match the poster. At first I worried that I could never re-size the poster to fit into the length of a ten foot window, but when I realized that all I had to do was add more bookshelves, that was easy to do. I love to add more bookshelves and books any time in my home and in my art!
The 25th Anniversary window from inside (left) and outside the store. (above)
I presented a poster making workshop on the anniversary weekend- everyone made a poster!
Painting the Anniversary window- I use tempera paints and big brushes!
Poster for the Red Balloon Bookshop’s 25th Anniversary.
My most recent window painting at the Red Balloon, The Princess and Her Panther. It glowed all summer long inside and outside the store!