Well here I am up all night again doing the things that I really do enjoy doing, but I just wish there were more hours in the day to be able to do all the things I need to do so I can fall flat on my face more often due to lack of sleep, but it must be done….and so it goes…….
And yet another powder room finish in which I have discovered, or rather truth be told the idea was passed on to me from another artist friend of mine, Lin Lam, for this tissue finish technique.
Although I would like to lay claim to this, it just wouldn’t be right not to give credit where credit is due in my opinion, which is more like a code of conduct and a respect that we all have for one another as artists……..or at least most of us do…..
It seems that modern day faux painting is really taking quite a foothold in todays market and I am starting to see some formulated product lines coming out that reflect this for use with contemporary and modern designs.
I know color is color when it comes to an artists stand point but lets face it, most of the products that where made available in the past where all designed for Traditional and Old World techniques so really didn’t see a lot of the bright cadmiums, thalo and a number of others for reasons other than just what I speak of
When Lin showed me a sample of this finish it blew me away because of the verticle application and it so happened that I had a client that was interested in a grass cloth look but didnt want what everyone else had.
So after adding my own twist to the finish the client fell in love with this look which actually turned out quite subtle to my surprise
I like how it’s some what sporadic in the movement which leaves a lot of room for different looks and ideas, for instance when I look at this I think of Birch trees in the mountains and I suppose you could even use this idea for a canvas piece….hmmmmm
Maybe I’ll get on that idea as a relief ……
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As redesign seems to be the trend for decorative artists,
I to am participating in this adventure of
New Looks and Re-Designs.
I recently changed an Eastern design foil application to a warmer colored foil which one of my existing clients absolutely loved when compared to the other foil I have used in the past for this finish. The previous foil was on a greener cooler side which looked grayish against the warmer gold finish on the mirror frame which we all know is one of the main accessories that holds the whole design together in a room such as this
Now there are a few things I must warn you about.
When working with foils it can be a very temperamental medium so when it comes to applying them as a
“stand alone” finish, it is difficult to achieve a 100% coverage with the first application sometimes and there are a lot of factors involved. It can not be achieved most times which is why the design side of the finish needs to be thought out when creating your samples for your client if you are wanting to only apply one layer of foil.
This particular design I was actually introduced to by artists Pam and David Schmidt many years ago and fell in love with it and the use of foils but was first introduced to them by Gary Lord and Donna Phelps who are very dear to me.
I loved their approach to mural painting which is what I used here for the bamboo
but I have made my own changes by leaving the cooler gold foil for a warmer color of gold
for this particular client
The New Look and Re-Designs
are important in todays market and sometimes even the most subtle changes can make the difference of what sells or sinks a treatment
If you look close you can see a lot of the back ground color of the red coming through the foil which is one of the reasons
I used a warmer “redder” foil
I also kicked up the intensity of the highlights on the bamboo to bring the contrast and values closer to the brightness of the foil so as to try and “meld” the two together before over glazing the finish. The highlights had just the right amount of intensity to pick up the glow of the foil but yet not to much to throw the contrast out of whack
because in most cases they these small baths have ceilings that are either to high or to low are
composition ally challenging, especially when it comes to a mural design.
With the mirror spanning nearly a third of the wall space plays an important part in the room design, as with most powder rooms, so I had to bring both the mirror frame and the foil finish together without losing one within the other, which made the room even more challenging and with my arsenal of unique materials that I find through many hours of research I am always prepared for any challenge
I love working with things that no one else has which is why a lot of the foils I work with you don’t find very often. Reason being is that distributors simply wont sell them because of the difficulty of applying them sometimes.
I find ways to make things happen which separates me from everyone else which is why I have these foils. When everyone else has given up on them, kind of like the proverbial “Red headed step child” that is cast aside because of being the problem child, do I see something worth not giving up on, and it becomes a challenge to be able to create something beautiful and unique….
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Boy, I must say that this has been quite a ride!
Art-Faux Designs new studio located at
25987 South Tamiami Trail Bonita Springs Fl 34134 at Bonita Commons
is nearly complete. Unfortunately I have had to cancel 2 classes and reschedule the grand opening 3 times but I am glad that I haven’t posted any new class schedule to save myself and the guest instructors from any confusion. The last class I held in November had two changes of venue because of construction delays even though I was scheduled to be in on Nov 1st. There were many people depending on me and I had to follow through with the class regardless of the consequences.
The class was still a great success but I still ended up becoming the proverbial whipping post, but I have no regrets because I know I did the right thing, most importantly was to make sure that the students had a great class experience and I would do it again if put in a situation like this again, BUT it wont happen again!
I designed the space to have as much room available within the studio area, to allow for large mural projects if needed and to use the facility to its fullest potential. The lobby pictured here is only 20′ x 12′ and will be most likely trompe loeil to the hilt because thats what I like to do, but there will be many other finishes incorporated into the mural that hopefully I will have all the bases covered.
The parking lot in front is quite extensive and will support art shows, live events and other cultural events that are in the planning stages with
I think this is the hardest part is deciding what to do with a blank canvas and with the double door entry into the studio it must be impressive
hmmmmm!!
One of the two adjacent walls which will have enough room to support 10 students comfortably.
Each work station can support as much as a 5 ft wide mural with electric at each station to use as they wish, which I found was a small issue at some of the schools that I have attended.
The lighting in the studio will be flourescent with the “Natural Light” tubes and directional lighting will be added at a later date so as it can be zeroed in on where the artist feels more comfortable.
There will be wall space available to rent on a temporary basis for artists on the short term so as not to conflict with class or work schedules
Anyway this is just a run down on whats coming together finally and we will be opening very soon.
For more information on studio space and availability call
239 417 1888 or Email: Arthur@Art-Faux.com
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because there is a whole lot more coming such as
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I thought I would post the final results of the recent cabinet faux finish that I completed last week. As you all know my favorite kind of finish and art is trompe leoil and I will always jump at the chance of painting it no matter how challenging the design. The lay out and design comes pretty easy to me being that I have studied most of this in school during all my drafting and blue print making days. All my perspective education was taught in my younger years in school and was one of the first things we learned in art classes was the importance one point, two point, atmospheric perspective and many more.
At 12 years old I designed and built my very first gun cabinet for my grandfather and at 13 I built a grandfather clock for my mother out of cherry they were both bigger than I was lol
Being that we had no money for college and coming from a hard working blue collar family I soaked up every ounce of education that was offered to me through school until I finally had to go to work at 16, and I am still that way today
Of course I am not 16 any longer but I do crave knowledge and learning and at this point of my life I find myself teaching more and more of what I have learned over the last 30 plus years.
So with that being said I am in the process of opening a new studio in Bonita Springs Fl which is will be an open working studio but I will also be having classes of many different art forms from decorative to fine art and may even have some sculpting and carving classes. At any rate there will be lots of fun and activity at the location with not only Art-Faux Designs but also with other businesses in the building working under a coop situation
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New Studio
Opening in February
Oh yeah! I love this combination!
Even though the current trends of today
are on modern and contemporary designs where there doesn’t seem to be a lot of the traditional or
“Old World Faux”
There is a combination of the two in what seems to be a new trend that I have seen coming into play as of late to where
Interior Designers are combining the two where the old meets the new
So in order to experiment with this combination, a friend of mine Craig Lebeau of Studio West in Naples Fl had a cabinet built to see what we could come up with to reflect this combination where
“Old Meets The New”
Now these are only the progress pictures that I have so far but as you can see the cabinet has straight sharp lines as in the modern/contemporary look, but with some old world embellishments this prototype is really starting to take on a characteristic all its own and actually has a very unique look.
If this finish looks familiar to most of you, well you are correct. It is my
“Trompe Loeil Foil”
finish which I developed not long ago that keeps on selling and selling and selling…….
As a matter of fact I still have this finish available on DVD in my
“How to Faux” “Amazing Accents”
video series on the upper right of this page or by
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