Dafna Brown painting the town

Most businesses do something to decorate their windows, but now local businesses and residents can have their windows custom-painted to share a specific message, image, seasonal vibe or more 

In July, Dafna Brown of Keystone posted on the Hill City Happenings Facebook page that she was restarting window painting as a part-time endeavor. Originally, she planned to wait until the fall to start, but she decided to see what the interest was. 

“As soon as I threw it out there, I got a pretty decent response right away,” said Brown. “It was really good, and it was really shocking ‘cause I didn’t think it would really do anything.”

Since then, Brown has painted windows for businesses in Hill City and Keystone like First Impressions Salon, Wild West Pecan Company and Keystone Country Store. 

“I’ve been really grateful for the people who reach out to me and ask to get something done,” said Brown. 

Brown has always done stuff creatively and even sold her artwork at craft shows and attended the Academy of Art University for a time. 

Years ago, while working at a daycare in Wisconsin, Brown was asked to paint the windows. She gave it a try and later had a couple of other businesses and a neighbor express interest. 

“It was just something that I like to do,” said Brown. “I just kind of played around with it and practiced until I could get it to where I like it.”

Three and a half years ago after her son graduated high school Brown moved to Keystone and started doing residential cleaning during the day. 

“I thought, ‘Man, maybe I want to do something a little bit different,’ and I decided to start window painting again,” said Brown. “I do this in my spare time until eventually I would like to do more of the painting and less of the cleaning.”

For her window painting business, Brown works with each customer to create a design according to their individual specifications and desires. After discussing ideas, Brown creates a design sketch and adjusts it until the customer is happy. This is the hardest part of the process, but also one of Brown’s favorite things. 

“My favorite part is meeting new clients and being able to paint what they would like on their windows, establishing a relationship and getting more practice and experience,” said Brown.

Once the final design is decided on, Brown sketches the outline on the outside of the window with chalk markers. Then, she puts a white base coat down. Once that is dry, she goes over it with the chosen colors. 

“That’s pretty much the fun part because I can put in whatever colors I want, blend it and make it however the customer wants it,” said Brown. 

Brown uses acrylic paint in a wide variety of colors to make different shades, shadows and highlights. When the design is ready, she adds two outlines around the edge to make it pop. 

If the paint is exposed to the elements, Brown also adds a spray acrylic clear coat over the top to help the designs last longer. She expects the designs to last around a month. 

Removing the paint is included in her services, and Brown said, “All you need is really soapy water and a scraper, and it’ll come right off.” 

Seasonal themes like Halloween and Christmas are some of Brown’s favorites to paint, but she said she can create just about anything. Each time she does a painting, she tries to make it a little better than her last one. 

“I’m just starting out simple and getting my practice. Eventually, I would like to extend more to getting more details and getting more realistic,” Brown said. 

So far her favorites are the floral door design she did at First Impressions Salon and a back-to-school design she created at Keystone Country Store. 

“It turned out really, really nice,” said Brown. “With each one, I’m getting a little bit better and more confident and adding more detail.”

Brown does residential and commercial window painting. Pricing is based on the size of the window and the detail of the design. 

“I will travel wherever. I usually like to keep it within a 30-minute radius from my house. But if there’s somebody that’s really, really, really interested that’s a little bit further out, then I’ll make that effort,” said Brown. 

Anyone interested in learning more about Brown’s window painting services can reach out to her on Facebook or call her at 262-475-9861.