Donna-Lee Kettering stands in her Jonesport studio, paint-covered plate in one hand, paintbrush in the other, softly brushing gray acrylic on a sheet of sage-green paper. With a few daubs of brown, the brushstrokes become branches.

Kettering works quietly, intently, stopping only to scoop a helping of mustard-yellow pigment onto her plate and cut it with a cupful of white paint. Soon, the branches have buds, then flowers, then a flock of stylized purple finches nesting on the limbs.

When she finishes, she picks up the paper and tapes it to the wall, right where it belongs. This painting isn’t destined for a gallery, nor will it be framed. But it may end up hanging in someone’s living room – as wallpaper.

“The wallpaper makes you think in a totally different way as an artist,” said Kettering, 38. “You want to make it unique and pretty but at the same time you don’t want to make it so fussy that it can’t be reproduced.”

If she’s satisfied with the final design, she’ll trace each color of the painting onto paper, transfer each to a large piece of basswood, and carve out the individual branches, buds, feathers and leaves. Then, she’ll use acrylic paint to print the pattern on nontoxic wallpaper rolls. It’s a time-consuming, labor-intensive process, but the result is worth it.

Though Kettering studied fine art at Clark University and graphic design at Fitchburg State University, both in her native Massachusetts, she came to wallpaper design circuitously. She worked for her family’s home renovation business, first in Fitchburg and later in South Carolina. When homeowners asked her to help them pick out wallpaper for their homes, they were often amazed at how expensive the papers were. And Kettering was less than impressed with the selection and the quality of many commercially made wall coverings.

“I’d always be hanging this paper, saying, ‘We can do better than this. This is so boring. Why are they putting it up?'” Kettering said. “Many people would have the same patterns in whatever color was out that season.”

For Donna-Lee, wall art is about far more than fashionable colors or trendy patterns. She says that while walls define the physical space of a home, what people put on them expresses the residents’ individuality. And her own home is no exception.

It’s hard to miss the Kettering residence. If you don’t notice the red roof, the handpainted moose perched on top of the porch will surely catch your attention, as will the small chickadee paintings that grace the home’s doors and trim. Inside, trompe l’oeil woodwork over a new door blends in seamlessly with the original molding, and a mural of Jonesport seascapes covers an entire room.

In the year since she and her husband, Robert, made the move from down South to Down East, Kettering has turned a neglected farmhouse into a showcase of her work – and her unique personality. The couple moved because Donna-Lee missed the seasons in the 15 years she spent in South Carolina. They wanted to find a big, beautiful, affordable house, and after a long search throughout New England, they found what they were looking for in Jonesport – and brought the rest of Donna-Lee’s family with them.

She had plenty of mural work in South Carolina, but she wanted more time to focus on her wallpaper designs. While most of her papers are custom-made to meet the needs of individual clients, she’s in the process of creating a line of hand-printed stock, and the move has allowed her to do that without interruption.

“We like the quietness of it here,” Kettering said. “It helps.”

The natural beauty of the area does, too. She incorporates the birds, rabbits, trees and flowers in her back yard into her work. She also draws inspiration from art history.

“I just like to try different periods of art and wallpaper helps you do that,” Kettering said. “It just depends on what you are in the mood to do and of course what the customer needs.”

Maureen Hart, who owns the nearby Harbor House bed and breakfast with her husband, Gene, needed a mural. But not just any mural. She wanted something special to fill an antique brass frame.

“I wanted the illusion of a birdcage,” Hart said.

She mentioned the mural idea to a friend in town, who happened to live next door to Kettering.

“She said, ‘Donna-Lee has a wonderful portfolio,’ so I called Donna and asked to see it and I loved what she did,” Hart said.

Kettering has painted many murals, both on site and on paper (which are shipped and hung like wallpaper), but the Harbor House job gave her a chance to get to know her new neighbors. And Hart was so impressed with the birdcage that she held a tea to introduce Donna-Lee and her work to a dozen women in town.

When Kettering lived in South Carolina, all of her commissions came from local referrals, and while she doesn’t mind traveling “pretty much anywhere” to paint murals, she’s happy living and working in her new hometown.

“I love it,” she said. “It’s wonderful, beautiful, and the people are so friendly.”

Wallpapers by Donna-Lee can be accessed on the Web at www.wallpaperdesigns.net. For more information, call 497-2874.