Painting Wood Floor Vent Grates to Match Tile

I love a challenge – and jobs where I need to match existing textures and colors with paint definitely fit the bill!  A project I just finished in Orleans on the Cape is a great example of this.

My client Janet is the designer for a new home being built, and she was at a loss for how to handle 6 wooden floor-vent grates that stood out like sore thumbs next the surrounding tile floors… which is when she called me!

The vents were in 4 different rooms with 3 different types of tile.  Typically, I visit the site first so I can spec the colors I will need with my color-deck.  In this case, though – the long distance meant I was working from the following pictures Janet sent me:

Bath 1 before

Mud room 1 before

Mud room 2 before

Powder room before

Once I was on-site, the first thing I needed to do was to get a good coat of primer on the grates to insure good adhesion of the paint.  From there, my goal was to find a “base” color for each tile -  which is the dominant color you see when looking at the tile. This can either be the “background” color behind the texture (if there is one), or it is essentially the “average” of all the colors together (basically the color you see if you stand back and blur your eyes).   I mixed each of these colors on site and got Janet’s approval before moving on.  After this was dry, each grate became its own little painting.  I started by mixing all of the subtle colors I could see bordering each tile, and then went to work with my small brushes to align all of the patterns and colors to make the match seamless.

To protect these “paintings”, I then applied a few coats of water-based polyurethane, which won’t yellow and will protect the color as well as the durability of the paint.

In the end, Janet was thrilled with the result and we had fun watching the previously blatant vent grates now disappear into the tile around them!  Here are the results - enjoy!:

Bath 1 after

Upstairs bath after (no before picture available!)

Mud room 1 after

Mud room 2 after

Mud room 3 after

Powder room after

Swirl-Patterned Gold Ceiling in Newton, MA

My most recent client Jessica found me online when considering options for a creating a dynamic gold treatment for the ceiling in her office.  As it turns out, Jessica is an interior designer, so she already had a great idea for what she wanted – including a swirl pattern to really accentuate how the gold paint catches the light.

Thanks to Heather Bourgeios, a fantastic Sherwin-Williams rep I have worked with, I was aware of a product called Crescent Bronze that was a great fit for this project!  This paint has actual metal fleck in it that makes it perfect for accomplishing Jessica’s goal of optimizing how the paint reflects light in interesting ways.

To create a deep, rich look, I started by painting a smooth finish of gold over the entire ceiling.  Once this was dry, I went back to paint my second coat- but with this coat, I used my 4-inch brush to lightly sweep in the swirl pattern after rolling out the paint. The metal fleck in the paint makes it “directional” – meaning the direction in which you apply it will catch the light differently – so this enables the swirls to stand out dynamically without adding any actual texture to the ceiling.

Jessica was thrilled with the result, and I enjoyed just looking at the finished result, watching the pattern change as I walked around the room!

Enjoy!

Jason

Faux finish in Medfield, MA

My client Cathy in Medfied called me when she wanted to update the faux painting in her entry foyer, stairwell and upstairs hallway.  The project started with a new tile floor in the entry foyer, which did not go with the existing faux finish from almost 18 years ago.  The tile is a nice combination of cool and warm grays – while the existing faux finish was creamy yellow with a brown accent color.

The new tile floor

The old faux finish

We started by looking through different options for faux finishes, and Cathy opted to stick with the “raged” finish she had, just with updated colors.  With color book in hand, we walked through the house and narrowed down our options to 2 different families of gray – one of which was warmer/more brown, while the other was cooler/more blue.

Since Cathy wasn’t completely sure which colors she wanted, I painted a concept board showing 4 different options that she could look at in her house.  This step was particularly important with grays – as they tend to look very different depending on the light.  Cathy was amazed at the differences depending on time of day, but seeing all of the options helped make her comfortable with her decision.  I was happy Cathy chose a combination where the lighter color was the faux/accent color – as that tends to give the finish a great pearlescent look.

The concept board

Once we had the final color combination, it was time to get started!  The one change I made from the concept was to try to get more of a repeated pattern in the finish – giving it a damask look, which Cathy really liked. 

The walls now go beautifully with the new tile floor, and Cathy and her husband are thrilled with their new faux-painted hallways!

Enjoy!

Jason

"All-over" Wall Stenciling

In addition to faux painting and wallpaper -- "all over" stenciling can be a great way to create a "wow" factor in your space!  The idea is to repeat the stencil pattern to cover an entire wall or entire room, giving a wallpaper-like effect.  Using paint and stencil gives a different look than wallpaper - and you get the fringe benefit of having complete control over the colors and patterns.  Additionally, with stenciling, you also don't have to worry about limitations wallpaper has in wet spaces like bathrooms and kitchens.

I recently had the opportunity to work with designer Ally Maloney of Maloney Interiors on 2 rooms she designed for the RI show home.  Ally decided to treat the walls of both of her rooms with stencil patterns and she called me in to help make it happen!

The first space used a fun "dalmatian" pattern in dark grey and white, while the second used a more ornate pattern in a Tiffany blue over bright green.  The dynamic result in both rooms garnered plenty of attention and rave reviews!

Following are some shots of the process and end results.  Enjoy!

Painting the dalmatian spots

A close-up of the second room stenciling

The final room

Helping Communicate Company Branding with Murals

When looking at the range of mural painting I have done, one of the things I enjoy most is the diversity of the things I get to paint! 

My most recent project is a great example of this, as it was different than a lot of the work I usually do.  My client was Mastodon moving in Ashland, MA, and they wanted elevate the look of their warehouse to reflect their company image and mission.  The approach to accomplishing this goal ranged from painting their logo to painting inspirational quotes to giving one wall the look of their website.

Starting with the logo, I collaborated with the owner JJ on the ideal size and placement.  We ended up with a 4’x5’ size that is oriented so his employees and clients see as they enter the front door.  The logo is painted on the wall opposite the door, and it is perfectly framed by the doorway as you walk into the space.  Capping it off, we decided to include their tagline “Moving Beyond Expectation” just above the logo to highlight the importance of Mastodon’s goal to be better than any other moving company.

Immediately next to the logo, JJ wanted to include their mission statement to set the stage for what clients and employees should expect as they walk (figuratively and literally) into Mastodon moving!

Staying with the theme of painting motivational lines on the walls of the warehouse, there were 3 more locations where JJ wanted quotes to help keep his team motivated and focused on being the best.  One of these quotes is positioned above the desk of his office manager, while the others are strategically placed over the doorways as you leave the main section of the warehouse, and another as you walk out door on the way to take care of a client move!

Finally, there is one large wall in the warehouse where a 20’x7’ section of raised wall is framed by a recessed section that surrounds it.  To add visual interest to this large space while keeping consistent with their branding, we decided to replicate the look of the background on Matstodon’s website.  JJ and his team are still brainstorming what they want to paint on the large “canvas” of raised wall that is now framed by this background – so more is to come on this project!

Enjoy,

Jason

Painting a Wedding Portrait (or 2!)

Sometimes my clients request paintings that present new challenges for me – and my latest portrait project is a great example!  My client Pat had a picture from his wedding that he wanted to use as the reference for a portrait he planned to give as a gift.  The first challenge is that the picture was of 4 people – and previously, the most I had done in one portrait was 2 people. While I knew it would be tough to make sure that I captured the likeness of all 4 people, I was still confident I could do it.  The bigger challenge, however, is that he wanted me to paint two copies of the same painting!!

The picture is of Pat and his wife on their wedding day, posed with his wife’s grandparents.  Unfortunately, her grandfather became ill and passed away shortly after this picture was taken.  Pat wanted 2 copies of the painting so he could give one to his wife and the other to her grandmother as a special celebration of their relationship and the grandfather’s life.

I explained that it wouldn’t be possible for the two paintings to be identical, but I felt that I could get them very close.  Knowing that the 2 portraits would never be hung next to each other, Pat was more than comfortable with this, and was excited to be able to give such a special gift!

To get started, I sent Pat ideas of how I would crop the photo to make sure we captured as much as possible of the torsos while still keeping the focus on the faces.  Pat liked what I proposed, which dictated a horizontal format – and we chose 12”x24” as the size that would best suit his needs. Otherwise, the only major edit was the background in the picture – which was not ideal.  Instead of manufacturing a new background, we decided to go with something neutral to make sure the paintings did not look cluttered.

With these decisions made, it was on to painting the portraits! To make sure the 2 paintings looked as close as possible, I painted them piece by piece, going back and forth between the two canvases.  For example, after painting the grandfather’s suit jacket in the first painting, I then painted the same jacket in the second painting.  With that done, I went back to the first canvas to paint the shirt and immediately followed with the same shirt on the second painting. This helped insure that I used the same paint color mixtures and that I use the same exact technique on both canvases.  I did this back and forth for every part of the painting – whether it was for the background, an outfit or a face.

In the end, I accomplished Pat’s goal of creating two almost identical portraits!

Below are pictures from the process-

Enjoy!

Jason

The original photo

The cropped version of the photo

Portrait #1

Portrait #2

Mural Repair in Canton, MA

When my clients Brett and Kristen bought their home in Canton many years ago, they surprised themselves by falling in love with a golf-themed mural that had been painted in their downstairs bathroom.  For years they enjoyed the mural, until a leak unfortunately required the plumber to cut two holes in the middle of one section of the mural.  The patches left two roughly 1-foot square white spots – and Brett and Kristen thought they lost their mural for good.

Serendipitously, I Brett and I met before they decided to paint over the entire mural.  Upon hearing that I paint (and repair!) murals, he had me come check out the project.  In addition to the two holes, I also noticed a vent covering that had rusted and suggested we replace it and re-paint that to match as well. Brett had conservative expectations, comparing the matching of someone else’s painting with matching someone else’s handwriting – but I assured him I could get close!

The first step is matching the colors.  To get close, I use paint swatch books, holding different colors up to the mural to get the best match possible.  Since murals have blended colors, however – this can only get me so far.  Fortunately, I have accumulated a vast library of different colors of paint – so I brought a selection with me that enabled me to mix the colors onsite.

The next challenge is to match the technique.  The muralist who did the original painting used a lot of glaze washes and different brushes to get the textures of the sky, grass and trees.  I brought a spare board with me to test techniques that I thought would match, giving me good confidence in my approach when I started on the wall.

In the end, Brett and Kristen were shocked at how seamless the match was – and how happy they were that I had “saved” their mural!

Enjoy!

Jason

The full "Before" and "After"

"Before" on spot #1

"After" on spot #1

"Before" on spot #2

"After" on spot #2

"Before" on spot #3

"After" on spot #3

Harry Potter "Photo Station"/ Mural Panel in Wellesley, MA

Just last weekend, the Wellesley Free Library (in Wellesley, MA) hosted a great mini-golf event, and they contacted me about adding some fun to the event with a “photo station” or “selfie station”.

The “selfie station” is a new term, but the concept is the age-old approach of creating a scene on a board with a hole for kids to insert their faces for great snapshots.  In talking with the director for the event, her guidance was for the scene to be related to a book for children, but the rest was up to me!

After some thinking and collaborating with my family, we settled on Harry Potter as a popular draw for kids of all ages.  With that decided, I then needed to figure out which scene I was going to paint...  I also wanted to add an interactive element – which led me to think of the sorting hat scene!

My idea was to create a mechanism for kids to choose which house the sorting hat calls out for their photo in the selfie station.  To do this, I cut an additional hole in the board for the house name and mounted a wheel behind it, so kids could turn the wheel and reveal their house of choice.  I included a picture of the back of the board (below) to show how this worked.

Knowing that many kids of all ages would be interacting with this, I was also concerned about safety.  To make sure the board was stable and secure, I used the largest brackets I could find to mount the board to 2 pieces of 3-foot long landscaping timber.  As a result, the board did not move at all when it was assembled!

Then I was on to the designing and painting of the mural.  I wanted enough detail to tell the full story of the sorting , with the castle interior, night sky and of course Dumbledor – but I also wanted to keep it simple enough to avoid clutter.  I ended up with the design below, which ended up being a hit with the kids at the event (as well as the ones in my house!)

Enjoy!

Jason

Kid 1

Kid 2

Kid 3

The brackets and supports kept everything stable!

The back of the board

Painted Furniture!

Painting furniture can take on many different “stripes” – from unique, specialty finishes to pieces painted a straight-forward single color.  A few of myrecent projects are good examples of this range!

The first example is a collection of dining room chairs.  The chairs I started with were great, solid chairs that were just a bit dated looking- with a tired, yellowed oak finish (see below).

Chairs before painting

My clients are moving the chairs to their sea-side home in Plymouth, so they wanted something light in color that would go with the “ocean” look.  They also need to go along with the dining table I did for this same client a few months ago (picture below).

The dining table previously painted

Working with their fantastic interior designer, we came up with a subtle “driftwood” look, using varying shades of light, brownish-gray.  I first painted the darker shade, and then using a thinned version of the lighter color, I created the wood-like pattern.  Because it was subtle, it was hard to catch in a photograph, but the pictures below give an idea of how they turned out.  Most importantly, the client loves them!

The final paint finish showing pattern detail

The second example is an old mirror for the same client.  The mirror has a great relief pattern around the frame that my client loves, but the dark color did not go with their new space.

The mirror before painting

When considering options, I wanted to make sure anything we did highlighted the floral pattern, so I suggested using two colors, with a lighter color “rubbed” over the relief pattern.  The space where the mirror is hung is a clean, modern room – so I wanted the final result to balance on a fine line between the “antique” of the mirror and the “fresh” of the room.  The colors we chose pick up on colors in their room, and I used a lightly tinted wax finish to hint at age without being too heavy-handed.  Again, the result was a hit!:

The mirror after painting

Mirror detail

The last example is more straight-forward, but equally impactful.  My client moved into a new home and had 2 media cabinets that fit perfectly on either side of their chimney (over which the television is mounted).  The only problem was that the finish of the cabinets before I started (below) did not go with the clean, bright look of the room.

Cabinet before painting

Second cabinet before painting

To address this, we painted them a simple white – and the result looked great!

Cabinets after paint!

When trying to fit old furniture into a new space – consider paint!!

Enjoy!

Jason

A Bright, Bold Statement Wall

My most recent client Terry called me when he finally got tired of looking at the same big, drab wall while walking down the stairs of his home.

The hallway before...E

Because of the position of the wall, it never looked right to hang a picture – but with the family staring at it every morning on the way to start their day, Terry definitely wanted to make it a dynamic feature in their home.

Doing a mural in the space was a great solution, but we needed to figure out what the mural needed to be!  Terry wanted the colors to be bright and cheery- with blues, oranges and yellows (but no greens!).  He liked the idea of alluding to beach, water, waves and sunrise – but he wanted it to be abstract and not a realistic ocean scene.  Most importantly, he wanted it to be an experience where he would see something new in it each time he looked, and everybody in the house would have their own impressions.

As we collaborated about ideas, I shared my recent “Statement Walls” using patterns from nature.  Terry liked the concept, and I started to share patterns from pieces of agate with suggestions for edits to achieve the look he was going for.  We settled on a pattern that had the sense of churning water in the foreground with mountains and atmosphere in the background.  Below is the picture of the agate:

Picture of agate

I then edited some of the patterning and colors to dial in the look and feel to capture what Terry was looking for and did a concept painting to scale:

The concept painting

Terry loved what he saw, with just a few edits to some of the colors.  From there, I was on to the wall!

Below is the final result, which hit the nail on the head of what Terry wanted!

The final mural!

Enjoy!

Jason

A Dog Portrait for Christmas

With the holidays rapidly approaching, my client Sue Ellen found herself in the familiar place of needing to find that special gift for her husband John.

Sue Ellen and John love their pets, and each dog they have had over the years is honored with a picture on their wall.  As Sue Ellen was thinking about how their current (and beloved!) dog Winslow is getting on in years, she thought of taking things to another level and honoring Winslow with a portrait!  Since John is extremely attached to Winslow, Sue Ellen knew this would be the perfect gift.

As she looked through her pictures, her favorite was one that was taken at the vet’s office.  It is a great picture of Winslow, and we decided to use colors from Sue Ellen and John’s living room in the background to make the painting look more like a formal portrait and to put all of the attention on Winslow.  Even better than just a good picture, I also got to meet Winslow! Being able to interact with him (he is super-sweet dog) made it easier and more fun to make sure my painting "captured" him.

I delivered the painting to Sue Ellen today and she loves it - sharing that I "captured his spirit" (a huge compliment)! Now she can’t wait to give it to John (and I can’t wait to hear about his reaction!)

Enjoy!

Jason

Gold (Ceiling) for Christmas!

Are you looking to enhance a room?  Consider a specialty finish on the ceiling!

When my client Sara was re-doing her dining room in Brookline, she was thrilled with the warmth of the red color she chose for the walls – at least until the ceiling was painting a cold, stark white.  The coolness of the ceiling white was accentuated by the fact that the trim was a warm off-white.  In the end, she felt that any warmth she had gained from the walls was taken away by the “chill” of that ceiling!

Sara and her family lived with the room for a while, as she considered her options for getting the room back to her original vision.  After looking around, she decided to go with a gold called “Pale Luster Gold” which would bring in the warmth, but would not overwhelm the rest of the room due to the subtle, soft gold color.  Adding to the interest, Sara chose to go with a “hammered metal” finish as opposed to just doing a flat metallic.

Painting metallic can be tricky, so Sara’s house painter chose to pass on the job – which is when she called me!  I had done the hammered metal finish before, so I knew how to make the finish look right (hint – following the instructions doesn’t necessarily do it!)

An additional challenge we had were some sizable sagging cracks in the ceiling.  These were the kind of cracks that couldn’t just be patched without replacing or re-plastering the ceiling, so Sara decided to leave it.

In the end, the color was perfect to achieve exactly what Sara was looking for!  We also found that the slightly mottled look of the hammered metal finish actually looked better with the ceiling cracks than the white did – giving it almost a look of parchment.

It helped too that we got it done in time for Christmas!

Below are some before and after pictures of the project.

"Before" #1

"After" #1

"Before" #2

"After" #2

Enjoy!

Jason

Portrait of Beloved Family Dog "Rosie"

I have said this in my blog before, but the diversity of what I do is one of my favorite things!  After my 15’x16’ and 5’x8’ mural projects, it was fun to get back into my studio and do this intimate little 8”x10” dog portrait.

The best part about commissioned art is talking with my clients about images that are special to them, which was the case when I connected with my latest client Gretchen. Gretchen and her husband have a small “collection” of portraits of the dogs they have had over the years, but their current dog Rosie had not yet had her portrait done!  Gretchen is actually the sister of another client that I did a dog portrait for (“Gus”) and she wanted “Rosie” done in the same style to make her Rosie portrait stand out in the crowd.

We began the process with Gretchen sending a few different photos, and I started looking at them in terms of the quality of the photo and the composition of the shot.  It wasn’t until Gretchen focused instead on who Rosie is that we settled on this final shot. While some of the other pictures were great, this shot of her inside on the couch was perfect – as Rosie so prefers to be indoors that her family nickname is “Hothouse Rosie”

The reference photo

Having the additional photos is still a big help, however.  I find when I do any kind of portrait (dog, human or otherwise), the more views I have of my subject, the more I can get a sense of what distinctive features they have that really make them look like them!

With the picture chosen, I did some cropping and editing to get a good composition and started my painting!  For this piece, the expression on Rosie’s face and the texture of her fur were key to get the “look” correct.

Now that it is complete, Rosie is waiting to be a gift from Gretchen to her husband.  I look forward to hearing his response!

The final painting

Enjoy!

Jason

A Bold New Approach to the "Feature Wall" or "Statement Wall"

As people look to freshen up their interior spaces, it can be a great idea to highlight one wall in a room as an “accent” wall by adding a different color, wallpaper or even different materials.  Taking this approach can add interest to a space or draw attention to an area where you want the focus to be.

Taking this to the next level is the “feature wall” or “statement wall”. Rather than just an accent, the goal with a statement wall is to add an entirely different level of “pop” or even “wow!” to a room.  There are some great wallpapers available that are being used to create just such a “wow” affect – but paper has its limitations. With paper, you have to work with patterns and colors that are already available – meaning you often need to make the room work around your choice of paper, rather than vice-versa.  Paper is also problematic in bathrooms due to moisture.

To address this, I set out to create a mural concept that would be bold and graphic – with an eye on modern decor.  I also wanted to play with the "outside in" trend of bringing outdoor elements into interior decor (which is also right up the alley of what I do in my fine art).

The concept is to take patterns from nature (wood, leaves, agate, marble, water, etc) and magnify them to the point where it becomes almost abstract, but still recognizable.  I am also separating the colors and values in these patterns into distinct breaks to create a cleaner final look.

The result accomplishes that desired “wow!” affect with a clean, bold presence - while also being tailored to fit the space.  For each Statement Wall mural, everything is customized – from the pattern, to the colors, to the placement and orientation!

Below are three recent examples (one added 1/24).  The wood pattern/ bedroom statement wall is 15 feet by 16 feet, the metallic silver marble pattern/ bathroom statement wall is 5 feet by 8 feet and the agate pattern/stairwell statement wall is 3 feet by 9 feet.  While these show a glimpse into the concept, the sky (and your imagination) is the limit for how it could look in your space!

Wood-grain pattern Statement Wall

Marble pattern Statement Wall (with metallic silver)

Agate pattern statement wall

Enjoy!

Jason

A Portrait as a Christmas Gift

After years of gift-giving, the challenge of coming up with a memorable Christmas gift for his wife is what brought my client Bob to reach out to me.

Bob and his wife have a 5”x4” photo from a wedding that is a favorite of theirs, but the small size, dark setting and cluttered background limited its display to a small table-top frame among other family snapshots.

Bob's snapshot

To elevate the picture to the level of a special gift, Bob asked if I could transform the picture into a 20”x16” painted portrait.  To make it look more like a formal portrait, Bob wanted me to remove the clutter from the background and brighten the entire image.  To help with this, Bob shared pictures of the room where it would hang to help decide on the color of the background.  I also made some subtle edits to make the pose and composition fit Bob’s goal of being a traditional portrait. 

Initially, Bob was skeptical that I could produce what he was looking for, but he was thrilled when he saw the final painting!  To help finish it off perfectly, I joined Bob at the framers to help pick out a frame that nicely complements that painting and fits with the décor of the room where the painting will hang.

With a few weeks yet to go, Bob is ready and excited to present this special present!

The final painting

Enjoy!

-Jason

Paint Restoration of a Patio

Some of my favorite projects to work on are paint restoration jobs – where I use paint to “patch” everything from wallpaper to bricks to pre-existing paint finishes… and now to outdoor patio pavers!

One of my clients is a painting contractor who unfortunately had some white paint splatter on their client’s backyard patio of grey pavers.  The splatters themselves were not too large, but there were a couple of places where they tried to wipe them out – making the blemish even larger!  Because the paint could not be removed, the painters were concerned their only option would be to replace the pavers…. until they called me.

By matching paint to the many varied colors and patterns in the pavers, I was able to re-create the existing look over the top of both the smaller splatters and the larger, wiped areas.  When the painting foreman cam back to see my work, he could no longer find the spots – saying “You saved the day!”.  Most importantly, the homeowner was happy with the results and could enjoy their freshly painted house (and patio!).

Below are some before and after pictures from this project.

Before shot of wiped area #1

After shot of wiped area #1

Before shot of wiped area #2

After shot of wiped area #2

A Commissioned Painting as a Special Birthday Gift

When I met my client Aubrey this past July, she was already planning a special gift for her boyfriend Vito’s birthday in December!   Aubrey and Vito had a trip to Italy planned for September, where they would be visiting Vito’s hometown of Cirigliano.  Because Vito has a special attachment to Cirigiano and is an art enthusiast, Aubrey decided to have a commissioned painting done of the town to give Vito a present he would cherish.

After returning from Italy, Aubrey shared her pictures from the trip, and we met to review the different images and talk about what she was looking for in her painting for Vito.  We settled on the picture below because it shows the entire town while also capturing the incredible vista surrounding it.  

I did research online to look at other pictures of the town, but I found that the beautiful afternoon light in Aubrey’s picture made it the best source to work from.  In translating the photo to a painting, we decided to eliminate the vegetation in the foreground and to lighten up the image to make the town more visible and emphasize the warm light.

Below is the final 24”x12” painting!  The painting is at the framer and Aubrey is counting the days until she can share this special gift!

Enjoy!

Jason

Beautiful Faux Paint Finishes in Wellesley

My client Louise was in the process of renovating her new condo in Wellesley when she reached out to me.  She and her husband are downsizing from their house and wanted to put some personal touches to their beautiful new condo to make it feel like home.

When we first began to look at the space, Louise envisioned a faux marble finish for the entry hallway and great room/kitchen (all of which was painted a medium tan color).  While I agreed that this finish could make for a pretty room, I was concerned about it being too much in such a large space.  Also, the kitchen counter and backsplash already had patterns and textures that would look busy with faux marble.

Understanding that Louise wanted something ornate, but that the room called for something a bit more subtle than the faux marble, we began to look through pictures of past projects I have done.  When Louise saw the “Polished Patina” library I did in Lexington, she was sold!  This finish has a soft brushed look to it – like venetian plaster crossed with suede. To work with the rest of her décor, we chose a lighter finish called “Rock Crystal”, which has just a touch of gold fleck in it. 

When we looked at the master bedroom, Louise had envisioned doing vertical stripes.  I agreed that the stripes could look fantastic – but, the room has gabled ceilings that create complex angles where they intersect.  Doing stripes on these surfaces would have created odd shapes no matter how they were painted – making an unintentional “fun house” look.  While brainstorming, Louise suggested a strie finish – which I agreed would look great!

Finally, Louise’s designer Cathy suggested another custom finish for the tray ceiling in the entry hall.  To pick up on the slight shimmer of the Polished Patina, Cathy suggested a mottled gold and silver finish.

All 3 finishes are complete, and Louise is thrilled!  She now doesn’t want to hang anything on the walls to cover up what she says is now her favorite part of her new home!!

Below are before and after shots of the room…

Enjoy!

Jason

Great room before

Great room after

Great room after

Bedroom before

Bedroom after

Bedroom after

Hall ceiling before

Hall ceiling after

Triptych Mural Panels

How do you follow up on a 48”x32” mural panel?  With 3 more 21”x30” mural panels making up a “triptych”!  (As Wikipedia explains, a triptych is “a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections”)

The Seaman Engineering mural panel triptych

Back in May, I finished my 48”x32” mural panel (pictured below) for Seaman Engineering in Auburn, MA.  The team at Seaman Engineering is in the process of redesigning their office - and after hanging this centerpiece in their conference room, they wanted more paintings for the main room of the office.  I was introduced to Seaman by Linda Sbrogna of Sbrogna’s Artistic Promotions, and she suggested a triptych to fill a larger space while keeping a common theme across the office.

The first mural panel, displayed in Seaman Engineering's conference room

Since Seaman’s engineering business conveniently covers three main areas of expertise (HVAC, fire protection and plumbing), I suggested we start with the concept of having each mural panel focus on one of these areas, while tying them together with themes of engineering and the Seaman brand. 

To make sure my ideas aligned with my client’s vision, I met with my contact Debra at Seaman to start collaborating on images for the murals.  Deb shared that she wanted the panels to depict the ocean and to have their logo across all 3 paintings.  For more ideas of images we could use, Deb suggested the logos for trade associations (ASHRAE for HVAC, NFPA for fire protection and ASPE for plumbing) as well as things like air handlers for HVAC, sprinkler systems for fire protection and drinking fountains and bathroom fixtures for plumbing.  We also talked about possibly incorporating elements from their engineering plans. Finally, I suggested including the human touch of the actual engineers with traditional tools of the trade to represent the Seaman team.

With all of this in mind, I set off to design the final panels.  One of my primary goals was to make sure that the composition of each individual painting worked as a stand-alone, but also worked as part of a larger composition with all 3 panels!  Similar to my original mural in the conference room, I also wanted these new murals to invite people to look at them over and over and find new details with each viewing.

Some of the more obvious elements are the big, sweeping Seaman logo in the background and the hands with the pencil and compass.  Each panel also uses a more subtle representation of the appropriate trade association logo as well as the equipment used in HVAC, fire protection and plumbing.  I also wanted to bring in elements of nature to add to the beauty of the pieces while tying in to the subject – with wind and water for HVAC, rain for fire protection and water for plumbing. Finally, I also used symbols from the keys of Seaman’s engineering drawings, representing elements from their HVAC, fire protection and plumbing plans.  For the color scheme, I decided to keep it consistent with the conference room piece to keep all of the pieces congruous while also helping to keep them soothing and relaxing to look at.

Below are some of the images I worked with and pictures of the final panels.

Final panel - 1 of 3; "HVAC"

Final panel - 2 of 3; "Fire Protection"

Final panel - 3 of 3; "Plumbing"

The final 3 panels next to each other

Enjoy,

Jason

Painted Furniture

Painted furniture is a hot trend in interior decorating, and it is a great way to refresh tired, old furniture!

I recently did a project with interior designer Anne Meuller of Briar Design.  She was staging a house for sale, but also working with her clients on their next home. Anything she did with the furniture would need to work for the staging, but also fit with the client’s tastes for their new space. 

There were 2 pieces in particular that were a challenge.  The client wanted their décor to have a rustic sea-side look, but their dining room table had a dated yellowish oak finish, and their buffet was a dated medium walnut.  Replacing these pieces did not fit the budget, so Anne called me with her ideas for new painted finishes.

For the buffet, Anne chose a medium grey-blue with a matte varnish finish, to be topped off with new hardware.  For the table, Anne had me use the same gray-blue for the base, but she also had me do a translucent “pickled” finish on the top, using a lighter grayish blue.

 Below are some pictures of the project.

Enjoy, Jason

Dining table finish before

Refinished table

Close-up of table-top translucent "pickled" finish

Buffet before refinishing

Painted buffet