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   On the exterior wall of a downtown Sarasota home, I created the illusion of an old black door with lace‑curtained windows and shutters. The client—a well‑known local artist—wanted something charming and unexpected. I added vintage hardware, a letter slot, and an old key hanging from my red string. Up in the small square window, I painted her cat watching the world go by. One of the windows holds a handwritten note: “Gone ballooning. Will return in 1 week,” then “2 weeks,” both crossed out, and finally “3 weeks”—a playful reference to her real ballooning trips through Austria and Switzerland. I even painted a key on the sidewalk, which regularly tricked people into trying to pick it up. The mural is about seven feet tall and thirteen feet wide, painted on what was easily the roughest surface I’ve ever tackled.