"We had many fine craftsmen involved with the project for the past year, but you really stood out. Your attention to detail, your artistic skill, your easy-going personality, and your hard work were so much appreciated in finishing the Hokanson home for the 2008 Fall Parade of Homes.

We love the cute and whimsical ideas you had for the playroom and the children's bedrooms. The boys love their rooms and baby Joe is now walking (holding onto the walls) around his 'aquarium' pointing to all of the different fish. He really is fascinated by them! All of the little girl cousins want a 'sleep-over' in the fairy princess room. I can't imagine any little princess not loving it! The vintage race car mural as well as the aircraft mural has Grandpa telling stories and playing make-believe with the boys.

The main floor is stunning - I love the living room with the 'graduated tonal look'. The master suite is so elegant you added just the right touch of depth to the rooms. They do spend most of their time in the kitchen/family area and your finish here is very livable yet so much more than just wall color.

We will always remember the amount of time you took to make sure everything was just the way we wanted it. You had great ideas and we loved the way you were so helpful when we wanted something different. You are a true artist and we wish you well in all you do. I can't wait to use you again on another project!"

"Our office building was brought to life by Norman's wonderful eye for color, texture, and feeling. Not only do you feel as if you are outdoors throughout the space, but each individual office area has a life of its own. As we explained our ideas of what we anticipated the final product to be, Norman used these ideas and expanded them to achieve an end result that we could not have imagined. His painting skills and use of materials were creative, in addition to his decorative ideas and touches throughout the entire building. To capture the final request, Norman completed a perfect mural for the main office area... a beautiful life-like bison!

Through his many hours of tireless effort and wonderful creativity, we have a building that continues to receive 'wow' whenever anyone visits."

"It all started with a pirate's theme... I started outfitting the room with a fresh coat of paint, bedding, accessories - yet, something was still missing.

That is when I called Mr. Wilder, who gave us some ideas to expand on. On very short notice, he fit us into his busy schedule. To tie the room together, he proposed a giant pirate's treasure map. It's as if he knew exactly what we were hoping for. Wow!

The mural of the map was better than we expected and has become the focal point. Mr. Wilder personalized it with our son's name and added some unexpected details for interest. We could not have found a better person to execute the project. It only took him a day and a half to have it finished. Mr. Wilder is so professional and yet made it affordable. What an impact to the room, it's complete!"

"Not only is Norman an exceptional Artist, but he is also very kind, patient and thoughtful! Norman was more than willing to work with all of our ideas and even offered some suggestions of his own. The end result turned out to be an extraordinary work of art.

We recommend Norman Wilder's creations to all of our friends and family! His beautiful work would look exceptional in any home or business."

"Norman recently completed painting a large fish sculpture for me. He had to pick up the fish sculpture from me, paint it, and set up the finished product in my yard. Before beginning the project, Norman came to my home to get a feel for what I liked to give him ideas for painting the fish sculpture. He took pictures to get the correct colors. I gave him a broad idea of my vision and with his creative talent, he did a wonderful job! It is perfect!

Norman was very professional and completed the project in a timely manner. I could not be more pleased with his work. I recommend him to anyone wanting quality artwork."

"Norman painted a mural of an appaloosa mare and foal on the wall of my daughter's bathroom. He met with her at the beginning of the project to find out exactly what she would like. She gave him a picture and suggestions for the colors and background. Mr. Wilder executed the project in a timely fashion, and he was neat, clean and courteous.

The mural is beautiful, with lifelike horses in a flower-filled meadow. My daughter is delighted with it and proud to have been involved in the planning. Everyone who sees it is astounded by Norman's work, and we are only too pleased to recommend him to others."

"Mr. Wilder completed three murals in our home. The first one was for my younger daughter's bedroom. The second was for my son's bedroom, and the third was for our upstairs hall ceiling.

Mr. Wilder painted two walls of my daughter's room; Lion King theme is on one wall and Annie/Grease themes are on the second. He interviewed my daughter who is 12 years old first, then met with my husband and me to refine the design. He also took into consideration the color scheme of the walls in the selection of colors.

He followed the same procedure for my son's room. My son ended up with a brick background on one wall in subtle colors with a Johns Hopkins University lacrosse logo/player while the second wall had the Beatles band surrounded by British flag and some of their famous album covers; my son is 13.

In the upstairs hall, I wanted a painting of blue sky and clouds for our barrel ceiling. This was a bit more involved because it is difficult to capture the brilliance and life-like quality of a beautiful blue sky with clouds. Norman spent extra time and even made a special trip back to put the finishing touches of subtle colors of mauve and golden yellow tones on it.

While Mr. Wilder was working in the house, he was very quiet and neat. He was able to work around my cleaning lady without unduly interrupting her work. I felt completely at ease knowing he was a Christian. I knew I didn't have to worry about security, theft, or any other issues. I carried on with my usual schedule, oftentimes being gone for the greater part of the day as he worked in the house. I already knew his sister-in-law from Care Net Pregnancy Information Center where I volunteer, so I had heard about him for some time before we commissioned him to paint these murals. He displayed good faith in his dealings with us and made the process enjoyable for us. I would highly recommend him."

"I first met Norman Wilder when my daughter hired him to paint a mural for her daughter's nursery. The mural that was painted on the wall was taken from the book "Guess how much I love you" by Sam McBratney; it was wonderful! When my daughter moved into her new home, the first person she called was Mr. Wilder once again to paint her daughter's bedroom. He made her room an enchanted, whimsical place where my granddaughter loves to play, dream, and fantasize.

When I purchased Laugh & Learn Development Center, I knew who I needed to call. We used the theme of 'McDonald's Farm' and Mr. Wilder went right to work. The different classrooms are called the Lambs, Chicks, Ducklings and the Colts. In each room, he painted a mural to represent their name. He painted lambs, a barn yard, horses, chicks and ducklings to distinguish the different rooms. In the lunch area, he appropriately painted cows grazing. The colors are soft and soothing. The children absolutely love it and the parents never stop commenting on how detailed and alive the animals are.

I would recommend Mr. Wilder for any such art purpose. His work definitely reveals his passion and ability for art. I would have no doubt that you would love his work as much as we do."

"My wife and I had run across a picture in a recent Architectural Digest of murals painted on the wall of a dining room in a 19th century former mayor's residence in a town in Belgium. We desired a similar series of murals for the dining room of our vintage home and contracted with Mr. Wilder to execute the same.

Mr. Wilder worked with us to articulate the composition and format of the murals and assimilated the colors we thought were necessary to integrate the dining room murals with the rest of the house. Once the project was underway, he was very cooperative in respect to changes and adjustments. Mr. Wilder was always polite, friendly and unobtrusive. Moreover, his extremely tidy work habits were much appreciated.

We feel that the final product is truly a work of art and are very pleased with its quality and overall appearance. Our two young boys are especially delighted with the waterfowl that was incorporated. Mr. Wilder is a credit to his trade and we recommend his services without reservation."

"If you are looking for something special for your mural you're sure to find it in Mr. Wilder's artistic talents.

We have our summer home on a lake and have a small hot tub room. I wanted this room done with something fitting of our lake surroundings. We decided on a bird theme and I left it up to Mr. Wilder to use his imagination with my approval of his thoughts and ideas. To our delight, the finished product was much more than we expected and beautifully done.

The lower half of the room is mirrored. Just above that, he transformed the room into a wetland and marsh-like setting. He surrounded the room with birds, big and small; such as Kingfishers, Greenback Heron, Swallow, Great White Heron, Great Blue Heron, a Least Bittern, a pair of Bluebirds and a Red Wing Blackbird. The birds are beautifully done and very realistic. As you gaze on and around the fallen branches or in the tall grasses or the lilly pad pond, you find frogs, dragonflies, and butterflies. As I step down into the hot tub and look into the mirrors, I am transported to a different world surrounded by these beautiful sights.

I've had nothing but great compliments of Mr. Wilder's work. It's obvious he enjoys his work and takes great pride in it. Mr. Wilder is the kind of person who will work well with you and for you. He has an A+ recommendation from both my husband and me."

"Norman just completed a mural in my son's bedroom. The mural consisted of three hockey players, one baseball player and the Grand Rapids Rampage football logo and player. Norman also painted the ceiling to look like the sky with clouds. To put it bluntly... WOW!!!! It certainly made my son's room come to life.

Norman's work speaks for itself. Please look no further than Norman's portfolio. It is beautiful! Norman is truly gifted and you will not be disappointed with his work ethic nor his personality. I highly recommend Norman Wilder to complete your next project!"

"Norman was hired to paint a nursery for my baby with the theme of 'Peter Rabbit'. I had many ideas of what I wanted the room to look like and Norman guided me to an absolutely fantastic baby room. It was better than I ever dreamed! I love the way that my baby looks around the room at the murals and can effectively develop his imagination.

Norman was dependable in that he was at my house when he said and finished the mural in the time span he said he would. He was considerate of what I wanted, but explained what would be even better.

I would absolutely have Norman create another room in my home and recommend his work to anyone who is considering adding art to their home."

"Mr. Wilder painted four rooms for us: murals in two children's bedrooms, a bathroom, and a faux-finish with grapevine border in our dining room.

We are very pleased with the outcome of all the rooms. We are extremely impressed with Mr. Wilder's creativity, and would recommend his services. He is very professional in his work and easy to work with."

"Norman Wilder is a great artist. He painted an animal theme in our daughter's room that looks exactly like the picture we had picked out. We are very happy with his work and our daughter loves her room. He showed up early everyday and worked all day long. I'm glad we chose Norm!"

"We are thrilled with the results of the forest mural in our new baby's nursery. It turned out better than we ever anticipated!

Norman is very easy to talk to and truly listened to our ideas. He made sure he was clear on what we wanted and halfway through the project he clarified to make sure he was on the right track. The room in which he worked was left neat and clean daily.

We highly recommend Norman to anyone and have the utmost confidence in his artistic ability. We also felt very comfortable to have Norman let himself in and out of our home while we were both gone to work during the day."

"Recently we engaged Norman Wilder to paint various murals in our children's three bedrooms. We are very satisfied with the quality of work done in our house. Furthermore, all work was done in an extremely professional manner and on a timely basis. Mr. Wilder was very cooperative in making changes to his artwork as the project was being painted. We were pleased and gratified at his friendly cooperation.

We wholeheartedly recommend Mr. Wilder for high-quality custom painting services."

"It has been my pleasure to work with Norman on two projects here at the Muskegon County Museum. He has painted the backdrop for five life-sized dioramas relating to food webs in Muskegon County, including a forest, urban backyard, grassland, dune, and wetland, as well as painting two structural columns to look like birch and willow trees.

Not only did he complete the project in less time than we anticipated, but he was more than willing to implement specific designs that were needed for the diorama we had planned. He also was able to lend his own artistic vision to areas where we did not have specific needs other than the type of environment. We will definitely keep Mr. Wilder in mind for future mural needs here at the Museum."

"Mr. Wilder took exactly what I was looking for and added more color, more detail, and made it even better! The mural is located in our kids' bathroom and it goes along with the underwater scene that I was trying to achieve. The mural is amazing and more than what I expected!

Mr. Wilder made sure along the way that I was happy with what had been done. He was super clean and never got in the way. In the mural, the sunset is beautiful and it blends in with the water line. After that comes the sea life under the water with colorful coral, fish, weeds and even a great big sea turtle. In the middle of the underwater scene are two beautifully painted dolphins.

When people come into my home and see this painting, they are amazed at how well it was crafted!"

"As the Communications Manager of the Grand Rapids Public Library, it has been my pleasure to come to know Mr. Wilder and admire his artistic talent. Because signage is one of my responsibilities, it was brought to my attention that children (and their parents) were having difficulty locating the children's area in our main library's temporary quarters -- a vast warehouse space. Even with wall-mounted signs and a map, people were still passing by the inconspicuous entrance. So, I struck upon the idea of a colorful mural on the floor to lead children from a main corridor to the children's area.

With no funds for art, I didn't really know how to make this happen; but Norman Wilder did. He immediately volunteered his time and talent to craft a colorful, fanciful mural perfect for a public library. His stylized literary animals are delightful. The mural he created is more than 30 feet long and roughly three feet wide. More important than size, however, is that it has accomplished its purpose! Since Mr. Wilder's art has been in place, I have not received another request from staff because children are immediately drawn to the whimsical path.

This tells me that Mr. Wilder is expert at using his painting abilities to communicate with people. The mural was not only delightful to look at, but it was obviously enticing and effective as well!"