Washington artist paints the town festive

With the arrival of the holiday season, festive decorations are visible across the Washington Square. While many are traditional holiday items — Christmas lights on buildings, memorial trees by the walkway, a light-up display covering the fountain — many businesses put their own spin on the decor with window paintings.

Most of those paintings are the work of Brandi Glaspie.

“I like things that are family-oriented, that everyone can enjoy,” she said. “It’s something that kids as well as adults really appreciate and really enjoy.”

Glaspie is best known for her face paint business, Face Art by Brandi, but added holiday window work to her services a year after starting. While she initially focused on residential areas, Glaspie quickly moved up to commissions from storefronts and offices.

“During the winter it really slows down,” Glaspie said. “There’s a lot more down time. I belong to a bunch of Facebook groups, and a lot of them do window art as well, and I was like, ‘Oh, that looks like fun,’ and it kind of just expanded from there.”

Admittedly, windows and faces are two very different canvases.

“The most difficult thing is probably going from a child, who is all wiggly in the chair, to a wall for a mural or a window,” she said. “I’ve been doing it long enough that it’s really not a challenge for me anymore, and it’s a lot of practice, it’s kind of like muscle memory.”

Still, Glaspie said reactions to her work were similar.

“It’s kind of like face painting. When the child looks in the mirror, their face lights up and it’s just pure joy. ,” she said. “Everybody walking by is so happy that the downtown looks so festive, and it’s so rewarding to bring happiness. That’s basically the basis of all my art.”

The amount of work per window varies widely. Glaspie said a given project usually took anywhere from 2-10 hours.

“There’s some people that are like, ‘Oh, I just want something wintry,’ and I draw up some samples and they approve it,” she said. “Other people are like, ‘I want this, and this, and this,’ and I send them a couple samples and they’re … very particular, but it’s their business, it’s their residence, I want them to be happy with the finished product, so I’m OK with it.”

Rather than paying hourly, Glaspie’s clients pay based on the design they commission.

“If it’s really simple it might be $25 per window, if it’s really complicated with lots of details it might be $100 per window,” she said. “I eyeball it, it depends on how many colors are used, how many characters there are, because all that takes time.”

While she wasn’t sure who they were, Glaspie said a larger window painting community was out there, as evidenced by a handful of works on the square she didn’t produce.

“There are others out there, I’m not alone, although I don’t know who they are, I wish I did,” she said. “It’s probably more popular than many people think, but there’s not as many artists that do it.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com