Children’s Dentist Office Waiting Room

This winter I was contacted by a friend to cover the walls of their children’s waiting room at their new dentist office in Fargo, ND. She had been inspired by the holiday doodle backdrop I had done for a recent photo shoot. For the dentist office, she wanted something similar in black and white, but with a dental theme.

She provided me with a few inspiration photos, showing particular interested in the paisley pattern.

I used the provided images as a starting point and began doodling teeth, brushes and tubes of tooth paste. It felt very awkward at first, drawing these foreign objects. In the beginning it was a struggle to make them cute and fun.

The final space included 2 different walls. The first was a large wall to be covered entirely in illustration, with a TV low on the wall. The second wall was a magnetic white board to be used as a “No Cavity Club” board, where kids could put their names. This wall also included a maze and play area.

I presented my first sketch for review and we worked through changes from there. The tooth “tooth” fairy was a no go and we focused more on the paisley, full doodle look.

After the first review, I started to find a style for the dental themed images and began filling in the background with fun shapes, including variations on the paisley.

Another set of sketches was presented and quickly approved! I continued to practice the shapes that I would be painting, so that when it came time to paint, it would just flow.

 

I flew to Fargo, ND in May to paint the walls of the in progress dentist office. To begin, I used yellow chalk to draw out the main items: teeth, brush, letter bubbles and tooth paste. Next, I painted over all my chalk lines and then began filling in the space around the large illustrations.

Once complete, I had a wall of fun dental themed inspired doodles. My sketch provided a basic frame work from which to work, but the actual placement of everything happened right when I painted.

For the activity wall, I used vinyl lettering for the “No Cavity Club” to ensure consistant letters. I worked with the magnetic toys provided to create a fun maze and tic-tac-toe for the kids to engage with.
Sometimes it can be a struggle to start a project that, initially, I’m not excited about. But I love how working through the process and watching my work and style evolve can transform the way I feel about a project. I’m thrilled with the final painting, as is the client. I just wish I could sit in the room and hear what the kids say when they see it!