Observations of an Artist

Where Do These Lucky Romans Live & Work? - Part 1

2012-10-02T01:34:00.006-05:00

Our first full day in Rome! Outside the hotel doors, we walked into a sunny morning with no particular direction in mind. We wanted to take in the city without preconceptions or agendas. Anywhere we turned, there was gorgeousness. I honestly believe there is a Roman law against ugly buildings. After photographing enough picturesque streets and alleys to make my artist's head spin, I pocketed the camera and just focused on making sense of what I saw... Where did the citizens of this phenomenal city live? ...work? ...buy groceries??

Setting aside the grand monuments and vistas of Rome (that's another blog post), here's a sampling of gorgeous building after gorgeous building. What fascinated me was that the upper floors of these buildings were mostly residences. Can you imagine? Not much different from Manhattan, I suppose... except more graceful and colorful. Look at these streets! Imagine a third- or fourth-floor apartment in any one of these...

Even the alleys where they park their Vespas and SmartCars are picturesque...

(It's obvious why a large Ford truck or Expedition would be ridiculous over here. Besides the high price of gas, why try to squeeze into one of these alleys in an over-sized vehicle? Some of the cars here were barely longer than they were wide. Very convenient, as they could fit into a parking space facing any direction.)

And here's a vignette worthy of an Italian movie - a lovely building...

But look closer (you can click on this, or any photo, to enlarge) - in the upper right, you'll see three young guys hanging out the window, just relaxing. I watched them for several minutes... they seemed to have no agenda and be in no hurry. Exactly what I would do, if I lived there.

Next blog post... "Why don't our grocery stores look like this??"

Ciao,
Lisa

Observations of Italy - Part One: Rome

2012-09-28T02:04:00.001-05:00

On the plane over the Atlantic...

Well, here it is! The start of my photos, notes, and observations of what has to be one of the most delightful countries in the world.

My husband Peter and I spent an idyllic twelve days this month on our first trip to Italy - Rome, Venice, and Florence. We couldn't have asked for better weather or a better experience. Feel free to comment, especially those of you who've been to Italy often, since I'm eager to learn more and will definitely return! Share with me!

Plane food!

After connecting in Charles deGaulle airport in Paris (a cavernous, almost eerie space- must've been quite the modern marvel in its day), we landed mid-morning in Rome on a Wednesday. The flight was easy - I'm a nervous flier, but there was far less turbulence than most State-side flights I've been on. Magazines, and Italian language lessons I'd downloaded on my iPhone, helped pass the time.

The Aurelian gates - one of many arches to enter Rome

Once we landed in Rome's Fiumicino Airport (hot, crowded, and not the best signage - probably common to most international airports), we caught a taxi for the 30-minute drive to the hotel. Interestingly enough, the old Aurelian wall, built in the third century AD, still stands in many places around the city center. (Standardized cab fare from the airport to any place within the Aurelian walls: 48 euros.) Once you pass through the arches, you're in the heart of Rome.

Our comfy room

Our brilliant plan to cross the Atlantic at night and wake up refreshed in Europe backfired. We got almost no sleep on the plane and were so tired when we arrived that we unintentionally napped through our first day in Rome and woke up just in time for a late dinner.


Entrance to the Hotel Artemide

Happily, Rome is a city of night owls, and our excellent hotel (Hotel Artemide - thanks so much, Patti, for recommending it!) was right downtown.

Our hotel, seen from across the street

We strolled outside but didn't wander far, just up a few blocks to the Piazza della Republica and then a midnight pasta dinner at a sidewalk cafe. First impressions were of gorgeous, well-lit buildings, "cheerfully frenzied" traffic, and the level of activity you'd find in a more relaxed version of Manhattan. Busy, but not overcrowded or chaotic.

Piazza della Republica. There's a Metro stop belowground.

Here's the view outside our hotel's front door, on the Via Nazionale (taken in daylight, before we collapsed to catch up on sleep).

The next day, we dove in... and probably walked more than we had in the previous two months.

Ciao! (which apparently means both "hello" and "goodbye" - somewhat like "Aloha" in Hawaii)

Lisa

Decorating, Simplified: Pick Just Two Colors!

2012-01-08T15:33:00.000-06:00

Kristie Barnett at The Decorologist had some fantastic advice in her recent blog post, "Decorating Your Home in the Right Order". She tells us to stop getting side-tracked with buying accessories until we first have a color scheme in place, and second, that we've tackled the furniture arrangement. So simple! This is solid design advice, distilled down to its essentials.

Now, I've had color schemes on the brain recently. Color is getting lighter, fresher. Just look at grey's new popularity, and the release of "Tangerine Tango" as Pantone's 2012 Color of the Year. Like Kristie, I love distilling design concepts down to the basics. So, in my ongoing quest to simplify color advice, I'm going to use grey and tangerine to illustrate my take on Color Schemes, Made Easy:

Pick Just Two Colors!

Now for the nitty-gritty: The first color should be a neutral, such as grey, or cream, or tan. (Yes, strong colors like red or navy can be neutrals, but only a select few of us will be brave enough, or have enough design experience, to go there.) The second color should be what is typically called an "accent color" - tangerine, teal, maybe black (if you're bold), or even another neutral (I'll show examples, but do NOT pick another neutral just because you're scared of color!).

With just these two colors - let's call them your Main Neutral and your Main Color, for simplicity's sake - you can choose paint colors, rugs and fabrics, which cover the greatest visual territory in a room. If your flooring is already in place, such as tile or hardwood, just make sure the two colors don't clash with it, and you're good to go.

Whenever I see interiors that have two "main" color choices (as opposed to more complex, multi-color schemes), usually the Main Color falls into one of three categories:

Option #1: A Soft Tone or Pastel as the "Main Color"

Pale blue with cream, or with grey, are a very popular combination:

Here the "Main Color" is a soft mossy green:

And here it's a soft tangerine-y pink:

Option #2: A Bold, Bright Color as the "Main Color"

Strong red:

Red-orange:

Deep green (don't see this color much nowadays):

Magenta or hot pink:

Bright green:

More pink:

Option #3: Another Neutral, perhaps a dark tone, as the "Main Color"

Love this cream-and-charcoal combination:

Soft grey and tan:

Cream and greenish-tan:

Cream and grey-brown:

Deep rich grey and soft pale terra-cotta:

Pale tan and chocoloate:

Often these "two neutral" schemes are what we think of as "monochromatic" color schemes:

Must everything in the room be one of those two colors? No, it's fun (and more realistic) to bring in little accents of other colors as well. If those accents are pre-planned (not just knick-knacks that you inherited, let's say), then you can incorporate an intentional third color (either another neutral, or another accent color) that will really take your room's sophistication up a notch. Lots of examples here:

Cream, warm grey (the two main color choices), and soft violet:

Cream, pale blue (the two main color choices) and celery green:

Robin's egg blue, charcoal grey-brown (the two main colors here), and salmon pink:

Cream, orange (tough call, but I'd say those are the two main colors), and pale grey-green:

White, warm tan (two main colors), and red-orange:

Pale pink (walls), greenish tan (sofa, drapes), and warm orangey-pink (chairs, pillows, shades):

Based on the walls and drapes I'd say the main colors here are cream and pale blue. The third little accent color is the pale green:

These two are classic "beach" color schemes: cream, tan (the two main colors), and then pale blue as the third accent color. They threw in touches of yellow too... nice!

Cream, taupe-y grey (the two main colors - you can see them in the rug), and magenta:

Cream, a linen-ish tan, and pops of yellow:

Despite the fact that this is a very simplified way to look at color, it can be useful. If you're like me, you'll start noticing "main neutrals" and "main colors" everywhere. Even better is when you step into your living room or bedroom with a fresh eye... You'll notice obvious changes that can make a big impact (removing the rug or drapes that take over the room because they just don't "go") or see where you have a color gap (the whole room is brown, and you really need a "main color" to use in pillows or drapes or an area rug).

Hope this helps!

Lisa (whose living room is cream, soft grey, and bits of pale warm green)

Of Books and Blogs: 10 Favorite "Building Blocks" for the New Year

2012-01-01T22:50:00.003-06:00

To my awesome Readers, Family and Friends...

Happy 2012!!

Like most of us, I've been contemplating the new year and the fresh beginning it brings.

There are many things I want to incorporate into my life (more social time for friends I don't get to see often), others I want to keep but just improve upon (eating more veggies), and some things I want to jettison (running ragged because I didn't prioritize my day well enough).

But one good way to start 2012 is by sharing some of the wonderful sites I've come across, insightful sources of great information, food for thought, and just plain eye candy to inspire us to "live our best life" (as one of my favorite authors would say). We are all creative, no matter our profession, and we design our lives one goal and one day at a time. Here are some of the building blocks in my life:

Books!

I treasure the knowledge and growth I have gained from these:

"Finding Your Own North Star" by Martha Beck

This book was so meaningful to me that I've given copies to my college-aged sons. I wish I could describe it well enough to do it justice.

I first ran across Martha Beck's writing in Oprah's magazine (she writes a monthly column). I was so impressed I searched out her book (she's written several, but this is hands-down the best, in my opinion). Beck's business is "life design" - and she has a real gift, I think. She's as funny and profound as Elizabeth Gilbert of "Eat, Pray, Love" (another much-loved book). If you pick up just one fresh read this year, choose this one. So confident am I that you'll love it, I accept your thanks in advance. ;)

"Mindset" by Carol Dweck

A useful little book, based upon the premise that we all tend to fall into one of two camps: either we believe that our attributes are fixed and "just the way we are, like it or not", or we believe that we can grow and change in virtually any area. Helps us switch from the former camp to the latter.

Once you absorb the main point, the book gets a bit redundant, but I still highly recommend it. It's particularly useful for parents (in fact, I first heard of it through a parents' group at my son's school). If you've ever told yourself that you're "just not good at (fill in the blank)", this book is for you.

"People are Idiots, and I Can Prove It" by Larry Winget

Okay, this book is not for everyone! Winget has an abrasive, in-your-face style and doesn't sugar-coat anything. But don't we all need someone to say "Get a grip!" now and then? Read just a chapter or two and you'll be looking at your life through new eyes, without any of the usual lousy excuses we give ourselves for the current state of things. (I just ordered two of his other books, just to keep myself on my toes.) I think the kick-in-your pants truths of this book, plus the "Aha!" insights from Martha Beck's book, are the best way to start a new year. In fact, I'll probably make it a tradition to reread these books every January.

I have other recommendations for other areas (finances, relationships), but these are my favorites for designing your life in a way that reflects the best of you. Don't we all want that?

Blogs!

The topics are varied, but here's my sampling of blogs that are just so good, I make it a point to catch up whenever I've got some late-night time to relax and read. If the books are foundational (in the "building blocks" metaphor), these blogs are like the "fun" parts of building a home - selecting the flooring, the paint colors, the light fixtures. I believe they help make my life beautiful as well as functional:

Maria Killam

Maria is a cute-and-perky interior designer in Vancouver who really knows her stuff. She doesn't just put up dozens of pretty pictures, she explains the design principles behind them. Maria's blogs on color have been so useful to me in my line of work. And I love her enthusiasm for sharing, for helping fellow designers and bloggers with what she's learned.

You Look Fab

Hands-down the best fashion blog I've seen. Stylist Angie Cox is to fashion blogging what the TLC show "What Not to Wear" (always worth watching!) is to TV. Angie herself is absolutely adorable, with her blonde pixie cut, specs, and open smile. (Plus I love that she so often wears flats, and looks great doing it - so refreshing in our "Real Housewives..." era.) Her advice is worth paying money for - not that you have to, thanks to her great blog.

Wendy's Look Book

Another great fashion blog, although this one is less instructional than You Look Fab. Except for Wendy's videos... Fabulous! Her "25 Ways to Wear a Scarf, in less than 4.5 Minutes" video won me over. Wendy is cute as a button, and her site has some great eye candy. There's a link to her YouTube videos at the top of her blog.

Conspicuous Style

I don't know how the author, Stacy Curran, has the time to compile all the great photos that she does. Skimming through the dozens of fabulous interiors in each post is a great way to educate your eye on superb interior design. Plus you might find a way to take care of that "problem room" in your house - we all have one! (Mine's the dining room, it feels too empty... One of my goals for 2012.)

Splenderosa

I like Marsha's love of fashion and pretty things, her calmly enthusiastic writing style, and the great music she plays on her site! Sometimes I'll open up her blog just to let the music filter through my sound system as I listen from the kitchen or living room.

A Femme d'un Certain Age

Tish Jett is an American who has lived in Paris for twenty years now. I love her posts on French women and lifestyles in general. There is a grounded happiness and security in themselves that French women seem to have, which I find equally fascinating and elusive. Tish makes it seem achievable, something we can aspire to in our own frenzied lives.

Fauxology

This visually-stunning blog is eye candy for a specialty painter like me. I get so many great ideas just skimming the pictures, it actually makes me want to whip up some sample boards (a task I normally avoid). Regina brings us examples of great decorative painting (what we used to call "faux finishing") and jaw-dropping murals from every era and every style. Her blog is famous in the world of specialty painters, and justifiably so.

I'll list these, and other favorites, in my Blog List below, but I at least wanted to give you a teaser and explain why I thought each of these blogs, and books, were so worthwhile.

One final thought...

I am profoundly thankful for the life I have, and the people in it, each of whom are precious and irreplaceable.

2011 has been a year of laying foundations and designing floor plans, metaphorically speaking.

For 2012, I look forward to building and refining. Please feel free to share any ideas, sources, and "building blocks" of your own! We can all enrich each other. :)

Here's to a Prosperous and Peaceful New Year!

Lisa

Halloween Doors!

2011-10-31T17:58:00.001-05:00

Greeeeetings!!

Just a quick post, before we all head out with costumed tots in tow, or prepare for the first little fingers at the doorbell. A few doorways decorated for the season... With the exception of this first one, taken at the venerable Guenther House, all others were photographed in my historic neighborhood, which I love!

I love this one... that is one gargantuan heap of pumpkins and gourds! And the equally massive dog sleeping beside them couldn't be more perfect than if he'd been told to pose.

Happy Halloweening!

Lisa

Things to Love About Vancouver

2011-10-07T02:32:00.000-05:00


Me in a bike helmet. We tandem'd through Stanley Park.

A brief departure from my posts about art and design... My husband and I were in Vancouver, British Columbia last week, and I fell in love with this modern jewel. Just for fun, here is part of what I love about this city:

Windows, windows everywhere!

Vancouver feels fresh and newly-built, and clearly the city's builders give its citizens what they want: Lots of natural light. All very stylized, very contemporary.

Green atop most buildings

Vancouver-ites love their greenery and their pets.

There were dogs and rooftop gardens everywhere, and cute shops to outfit both.

Gorgeous flowering baskets, hung from nearly every streetlight.

The fuchsias were especially beautiful. (We saw some of these in Seattle too.)

This is a walking city, and people dressed accordingly.

I saw very few stilletos, but lots of chic boots and cute flats. The most common women's look was snug black pants (like riding pants), a dark neutral sweater or short coat, and a scarf for color and warmth. Plus a shoulder bag or stylish leather backpack. They could practically jog to work and arrive looking put-together.

Messenger bags

Almost all the men carried them, from sharp businessmen to shabby slacker-types, and they were featured in virtually every clothing store we entered. Leather, canvas, nylon... the guys here toss everything in these bags: lunch, books, umbrella, you name it.

And finally: Coffee is always brought to you in a ceramic mug and saucer, complete with sugar spoon.

Every block had a coffee house (or two), and we were always served with real dishware - no paper goods (unless it was "to go"). I never realized how much this little detail encourages you to slow down, relax a bit, and enjoy the moment. Ahhh...

Hope you enjoyed the journey!

At a lovely Chinese garden

Lisa

Straight From the Artist's Mouth - What I Wish My Clients Knew About Color

2011-09-18T21:05:00.001-05:00


Missoni

The essence of all art and design is composition and color. Every masterpiece you see in a museum (or in stores - this fabulous pattern is from the "blink and you missed out" Missoni for Target collection) began in the mind of an artist who was thinking about his line and color choices. This is no less true in people's homes - the essence of every great room is line and color. As an artist I see this fleshed out every day, the good and the bad. I'm in fantastic interiors every week, visit many more on consultations, and have seen many "before and afters" over the years. All this adds up to one big, hands-on crash course in color and design! So here for you, my dear readers, are the condensed bullet-points of what I wish I could impart to everyone. Listen up, grasshopper!

"Brown" is not a color scheme!

This is San Antonio's most common interior design faux pas. It starts harmlessly enough. An eager family moves into their new home. Within a week they're surrounded by Brown: Brown Leather Sofa (their biggest item) + Brown Hardwood Floors (especially in a pricier home) + Brown (Tan) Walls (clients don’t want "builder white" but are afraid of color) + Dark Brown Wood Furniture (Grandma's dining room set) + No Plans for Anything Else = No Color, No Style... just uniform, unmodulated brown all over. I see this everywhere!

It's a rookie mistake (and I see it in the most exclusive homes as well). A monochromatic design scheme based on brown can work, IF you plan it out carefully and incorporate a full range of values (from beige to ebony), a variety of rich textures (no more than one leather piece in a room, please!), and strategic, intentional use of color to liven it up (everyday clutter doesn't count). If your new home is still in the construction phase, go in with your eyes open on this one.

If you want a yellow or pink room, do NOT pick "solid" yellow or pink.

This is another very common mistake. Yellow and most "little girl" pinks are very saturated colors - if you zero in on what looks appealing on a color strip, you've probably just picked a great accent color, good for a picture frame or pillow or two, but it's too intense to wrap the whole room.

Remember: wall colors are background colors, not accent colors (except in specific design applications). Pick the softest, palest, warmest version of yellow or pink - almost a CREAM with yellow or pink undertones! Trust me - you'll get the look you want.

If you want a blue or green room, go warm!

I love soft, soothing blues and greens. (My dining room is painted with Sherwin Williams' "Rainwashed"... the perfect backdrop for the eventual murals of trees and birds I'm going to paint, but it looks lovely all on its own.) But most clients select the clear, cool blues or greens that evoke certain feelings and images - mint ice cream, baby blue, cloudless sky. In my experience, these sweet colors look way too minty and cold on the wall - and especially so if your room doesn't get lots of full sun. If you want your master bath to say "Spa Blue" instead of "Hospital Blue", pick a warmer version of that blue you've got your eye on.

If you're going bold, try it on an accent wall first.

Do not paint your whole room that lively magenta (a favorite of mine!) until you've tried it on a wall - not unless you're prepared, emotionally and financially, to repaint the entire thing once you realize it looks sickly purple in your own room, with your own things.

And please... Do Not interrupt a deep, strong color with lots of doors and windows! I learned this the hard way in my old kitchen. The avocado green (sounds awful, but wasn't) which I loved in the breakfast area looked jarring in the kitchen, where strips of it surrounded windows and cabinets and backsplashes in a haphazard disregard for good design. Do not try this at home. Bold colors look best on solid rectangles of space, like an accent wall or a ceiling (yes, ceiling!).

Grey is the New Brown.

My Living Room

My Entry

My Bedroom

I've saved the best for last. Soft, warm greys are everywhere now, and with good reason. (I think the current Restoration Hardware line is almost entirely grey.) Soothing, flattering, sophisticated and supremely versatile, grey is soft enough to go with creams and pastels but strikes the right contrast against black or red or hot pink. We painted every wall and ceiling in our house (except the afore-mentioned dining room) in Sherwin Williams' "Agreeable Grey". It's part of our palette of creams, beiges, and pale greens in the living room, but also works with the dark woods and raw silk "pumpkin spice" drapes in our bedroom. If you don't want "builder white" but want to avoid the abyss of brown, try a grey!

There you have it, straight from the artist. You can no longer claim ignorance - especially you Brownites. So tell me... What has worked for you, and what do you love? Experimentation is still the best way to learn. After all... Color is meant to be fun!

Lisa

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Are You a Composer, or a Technician? Musings on Music and Art

2011-09-13T04:22:00.000-05:00

Christ Episcopal Church

Yesterday was a spectacular day of music. It started with stepping outside my front door and walking across the street to Christ Episcopal Church, the new home of Camerata San Antonio. For the opening of their ninth season, the chamber music group played gypsy-themed music by Haydn, Kodaly, and Brahms. The selections were stirring, melodic, energetic. Then that evening my husband and I saw Carlos Santana live in concert. (Wow!!) On the drive home, I was humming and thinking. The musicianship of Camerata SA, and of the Santana band, was phenomenal. These were pros at the top of their craft.

Tom Hulce as Mozart

But the composers, now... Brahms, Mozart, Gershwin, Stravinsky... these men were Creators. The must-see 1984 film "Amadeus" showed us a frenzied Mozart plucking complex melodies seemingly out of thin air.

This is a different level of artistry altogether. The rest of us can practice Mozart's music faithfully and "with feeling", but we are mere technicians of music. He is the creator, the "Artist".

Which got me thinking about my own artistic journey... and perhaps, yours.

Ed Harris as Jackson Pollock

When people hear that I'm an artist, I get a wide-eyed, "Cool!" reaction... and then they pause, eyes narrowed, thinking, "But you seem so normal!" The Hollywood image of "the Artist" is a neurotic diva who puffs on a cigarette while dabbing at a canvas with a manic brush, given to fits of creativity (and a sizable ego), oblivious to the outside world and its pedestrian needs. (No, I don't fit that image.) Peel away the negative aspects of the stereotype and most of us still envision artists as right-brained "creative types" who conjure up masterpieces ex nihilo from the ever-changing slideshow in their minds. This is especially true with abstract art... but I digress.

What of the technicians of art?

This is how I've always seen myself. Being more left-brained than right-brained (my first major in college was mechanical engineering), I've got an eye for detail and analysis. With training, I'd have been a good forger:


Tiepolo, c. 1740-1750


My version, 2010

("Copying" is not easy, though. On the left is my own reproduction of a Tiepolo masterpiece. On the right is the original. I had a devil of a time trying to capture Tiepolo's use of light.)

After my stint in engineering courses - I did well but didn't see myself working in a cubicle all day - I segued into Fine Art. I hoped to perfect my skills at the "craft" of art, but my new professors mostly urged us to tap into our creativity, to push the artistic envelope. It was assumed the skills would follow. Not seeing myself as a chain-smoking neurotic "Artist", I switched majors yet again... to Art History. (This one stuck.) Yet I wonder how many of us who truly loved painting and drawing as children ended up shelving those pursuits because we didn't fit the image and couldn't fling paint at a canvas with ease.

There's a parallel here between art and music. The same continuum between right- and left-brained approaches applies. On the "right-brained" side are the rare geniuses who can paint masterpieces or compose music, like Mozart, out of thin air. Then on the "left-brained" side are the craftsmen and technicians who can duplicate art or perform music beautifully. (In the middle lie the artists who do great work "in the style of...", or jazz musicians who improvise on the spot. So brilliant.)

Spanish ceiling, 2008 Parade of Homes

In my profession as a faux finisher I can practice the craft of art and keep the left side of my brain humming along happily. While my work is creative - whether layering glazes of color or designing a scrollwork ceiling - I am not an artist who can generate a masterpiece overnight. I cannot easily produce something out of nothing - I need a spark of an idea, a source of inspiration, a starting point.

I think this is true for most of us. Good art teachers know this, but too many kids experience the fear of the blank canvas. We fear not being creative enough, in the "right-brained" sense. As a working artist, I fear it too, but I've learned to explore the vast middle ground of that left- vs. right-brained continuum, to search out a photo or fabric swatch for inspiration and not force myself to create something out of nothing. Much more fun that way!

Happy creating,

Lisa

Faux Finishing is like Applying Make-Up

2011-09-01T08:37:00.000-05:00

My step-daughter Aftynn alerted me last month to a new style in manicures:

crackle nail polish.

(Who knew... I can stay on-trend and do my nails with products from my own garage!)

Which made me think... painting a decorative finish, especially when it comes to glazes, is a lot like applying make-up.

Here are some similarities to chew on:

Start with a good foundation.

Your base, or foundation layer, is critical to getting a gorgeous result. Would you leave the house wearing make-up that was clearly too light or too dark for your skin? Powder and blush can't salvage it. Likewise, no amount of glaze will rectify a bad wall color. If your house is Crayola yellow, your options are limited. A tea-stain glaze will tone it down, but if you want your home to say "warm and inviting" rather than "Mexican restaurant", far better to just repaint the walls with something more elegant, and then glaze if desired.

Application marks should never be visible.

You don't want any streakiness where you applied your blush or eye color. You want a soft glow of prettiness, like the blush on Keira Knightley.

In the same way, brushstrokes or sponge marks should never be visible on your walls. This separates the men from the boys in faux finishing. A good decorative artist will achieve "drifts" of color or changes in intensity without anyone being able to tell how it was done. No roller tracks or sponge imprints, please! As the make-up artists say, Blend, blend, blend!

Choose color wisely.

Avoid high-contrast combinations (unless you're doing theatrical make-up).

Even if you're going for drama, the eye at left is, shall we say, over the top.

The one at right... better. This takes some skill to achieve, and is best left to the pros (and the young!).

Most of us do best with a more refined approach:

If you want walls that evoke drama, then by all means go for it. But it's hard to do drama well unless you've got a designer on your team. And if you're selecting colors for a "simple glaze", by all means call in the pros. Here's a luscious tomato-red glaze over a golden tan. Good base color (not too strong), great application (nicely softened), and just the right red (this is a very "brown" red, not at all a primary Crayola red).

Get expert advice.

This is why most brides get their make-up professionally done. I love the flawless skin and soft shimmer of eye color in this photograph from a bridal blog. The goal is to look like yourself, just enhanced a bit. To look naturally beautiful. If you want a home that authentically reflects the best of you, calling a designer may be your best move.

These were some basic similarities that struck me as I was putting on my make-up this morning. I'm sure there are many others. Have a great day, everyone!

Lisa

A Day in the Life of a Faux Finisher

2011-08-26T17:28:00.002-05:00

Ever wonder what a typical day looks like for a decorative painter? Unlike artists, we don't stay in our studios, waiting for the lightning-strike of inspiration, or trying to tune into the "vibe of the universe" to motivate us... ( just playing with the stereotype!)

Most of the time, we're up on scaffolding in a client's home, applying the next layer of glaze or plaster (most finishes take several layers to complete). Here's a day I had this week, which was typical, if a bit frenzied...

7:36 AM

Dressed in my work "uniform" (paint-splattered pants, a tank top, sneakers, and a few bracelets for fun), I start with coffee and flip through my spiral notebook with my day's schedule. Today we'll be doing a paint-and-glaze finish in a powder bath, and late in the afternoon I need to finish a fireplace project at a different home across town.

I keep two daily lists going: "To Get Done" and "Load Up". Everything on the "Load" list - such as ladders, rollers, tarps, and paint - has to be loaded into my work vehicle, like this.

8:50 AM
Head to the first jobsite: a beautiful home in Sonoma Ranch, where my assistant Arlene and I will apply a strie'd finish in the powder bath. The walls were refloated and painted days ago by one of my husband Peter's painters, so they're smooth and ready to go.

Here's what a "strie" finish looks like:

It's quite lovely, especially in metallics, and is achieved by dragging vertically through wet glaze to get the striated effect. The sample for today's project - ebony glaze over rich brown paint - looks like zebrawood. Very cool.

9:40 AM
We've started applying the finish and realized that the slow-drying glaze is drying a little too slowly. At this rate, the client won't be able to use their bathroom for days. I set Arlene to dry the walls with a hair dryer while I continue working.

2:15 PM
At last we're done. The finish took longer than expected due to the frustrating tendency of my vertical dragging to drift off-plumb. But that's the advantage of slow-drying glaze: it can be worked and reworked until it's right.

4:00 PM
We've cleaned up and Arlene is headed home. (She'll rejoin me here the next day when we glaze the client's stairwell.) I'm headed to Home Depot for supplies and then up to Stone Oak to finish yesterday's fireplace project.
In Stone Oak I apply a glaze over a fireplace mantel, help the client select colors for the next project, and inspect the limestone finish I'd put on the fireplace wall. After about an hour, I head home, stopping to see some friends and grab a bite to eat along the way.

7:30 PM

After dinner both Peter and I have some office work to get done. At my computer I make new lists, answer emails, and prepare some paint estimates for Paper Moon (Peter's business). Then some sample-creating, including this rich red crackle finish for a client's master bedroom headboard wall. Most evenings we're busy with family and friends, so desk- or studio-work usually happens late nights or early mornings.

And always interspersed throughout the day are the various phone calls and emails that keep my business running. Thank goodness for smart phones!

Often I'll have larger projects, where I'll stay at one jobsite for a week or more. Or, on a rare day with no on-site work, I'll have an Office Day and work on accounting, upload photos on facebook, write thank-you notes, and catch up on my favorite shelter magazines ("Veranda", "Architectural Digest", and "Elle Decor"). Once in a while Peter and I can accompany each other on our workdays, which is always nice.

I love the variety of my life. I don't miss working a desk job... although I do wish I had more time to write. And my work can certainly be physically exhausting. Ideally, I'd do more interior design projects and leave the sample-making and installations to my assistants (except for my mural commissions). And I would like to create some fine art again. I tend to be a realistic painter, but the finishes I do in client's homes often inspire me to create some large-scale abstracts in a similar style. Those are next on my agenda.
There's my day, all wrapped up in a bow. Sometimes I think that "faux finishers" are seen as elusive, mysterious creatures, similar to "ghostwriters" or "media consultants". Hopefully I've demystified us, just a bit. Until next time!

Lisa

"It Looks Worse Before It Gets Better!"

2011-08-14T03:31:00.003-05:00

Faux finishing, to me, is like cooking.

Caveat: My husband broke into gales of hysterical laughter when he took my baked chicken out of the oven last week. I’d placed some chicken breasts in a pan and set them, unflavored and unadorned, to bake until “done”. No salt, no spices, nothing to alleviate the blandness. (“What?” I asked him sweetly. “They’re baked now…”)

Clearly I’m no Julia Child. (Perhaps this isn't the best analogy of what I do for a living.) Nevertheless, cooking takes a certain degree of trust – in the recipe, in your neighbor’s helpful hints, in the quality of your ingredients. You buy the right produce, make various modifications as directed, set the whole thing to “bake”, and trust that it’ll come out delicious.

The same goes for many of the decorative finishes that I do. Take a glaze finish, like this one:

Glazed finish by San Antonio Murals in the 2008 Parade of Homes

To get this, you add color to clear glaze, which is sold in quarts or gallons like regular paint and which looks like Elmer’s glue when wet but dries clear, to allow your added color to show through. You roll this on the wall and then go to town, manipulating it with various tools to get the effect you want. Now… imagine using something like an Elmer’s-glue-and-color mixture. The glue's whiteness makes your color look off, and its wet sheen on the wall hides any wayward brushstrokes. You can roll it on, push the glaze around a bit to soften it, and never see the roller tracks or splotches... until it dries. By then it’s too late to make changes. You’d better know what you’re doing ahead of time… and trust it’ll come out delicious.

Some finishes require more trust than others. Lime plasters, for example. Most modern-day Venetian plasters (highly polished smooth plasters, first used centuries ago in Venice) are made from marble dust combined with acrylic binders. They trowel on like extremely thick mayonnaise and they dry fairly true to color. Venetian plasters made the old-fashioned way, with activated lime instead of acrylics, are darker – a lot darker – when wet. So if I’m custom-tinting a batch of lime plaster, I bring out my hairdryer and meticulously tint, and dry, tiny quantities at a time until I get it right… and I still need to cross my fingers that the larger, final batch will tint the same, and will dry the same, as I expect it to.

Here’s my crew applying lime plaster this past week. Yes, this looks god-awful. (And it’s no picnic to apply, either. Like troweling wet sand onto a wall.) You can see where the plaster is still extremely wet… and where it is starting to dry. No one was more relieved than I when the whole thing came out beautifully. In this next picture, the plaster is drying at left, but you can see the finished product above the arches. It looks and feels like softly polished stone… I literally sighed with relief. Delicious.

Lisa – dusty, exhausted, but very, very pleased

Hello, World!

2011-08-10T03:23:00.003-05:00

Thanks to some persistent friends (you know who you are!), the blogosphere has a new member in its ever-expanding, messy world. My name is Lisa Moon of San Antonio Murals, and I've been blessed with a unique career path - I'm a professional "decorative painter", or "faux finisher", or "mural artist" (title subject to change at any moment!).

Unlike most artists whose work is shown in galleries, I am commissioned by interior designers and homeowners to beautify their walls directly, so my work ventures more into the interior design industry than the fine art world. I trowel on plasters and glazes, paint skies and landscape murals, perhaps design elaborate scrollwork for some cabinet doors or apply gold leaf to a domed ceiling... square by five-inch square! Most of my finishes are sophisticated backdrops to the client's own furnishings and artwork. If a key ceiling or architectural feature is begging for attention, I can create something dramatic, hopefully breath-taking... and those are always the funnest projects.

So... Welcome! I look forward to sharing my own journey through the art and design worlds. I'll keep it short and sweet... and discreet (I won't submit my clients to blog scrutiny without their permission). And I'd love to hear from you too. Conversations, in all forms, are often what enrich us most.

Lisa