Port Royal Faux Finishing
has become it’s own category of faux finishing amongst artists as being the best of the best in the decorative arts market
Weather it be wood graining, marbling columns, fine art murals or trompe loeil the quality of a Port Royal Faux Finish is of the highest standards
says artist/muralist Arthur Morehead
You can be anywhere in Southwest Fl discussing decorative art or any other faux finishing idea or technique for that matter and as soon as you hear the term a Port Royal Faux Finish or Port Royal Quality it is immediately known as nothing but the best in most cases.
of course most of us old timers wouldn’t think of it any other way but due to the economic changes in the last 5 years there are those who are willing to sacrifice the highest quality for the
“Can’t you do better than that on the price?”
This kind of mindset has really made it hard on veteran artisans because we really don’t know of any other way to lessen the costs other than to introduce a lower costing faux finish to the mix.
For instance you wouldn’t ask your brain surgeon or your proctologist that would you? I mean their numbers are just as real as an artists?
“Hey Doc, do you think you could do a little better than that?”
“After all I don’t need to be the smartest guy in the world and the wife already laughs herself to sleep at night anyway”
I mean C’mon there are some things you just can’t compromise on I mean geeezzz!, think about it for a minute,…… no really, I’m serious we already have a bunch of lobotomized, mindless wonders running the country as it is! Do you really want these kind of “deal makers” working on your home?
Or maybe you really do want that guy over there standing in the puddle of water trying to figure out how to plug that 110v extension cord into that 220v wall socket working on your home because he’s ‘a bit cheaper. Or maybe you don’t mind having that thumbless carpenter swinging that 30 ounce hammer over that Ming dynasty vase that your wife love’s so much just because he’s fun to watch.
Yeah I know some of you are going to hate me for making a statement like that but I did it for a reason.
One it got your attention and hopefully made you realize that the majority of us faux finishing veteran artisans and master craftsman are the best at what we do and
Two we are self conscience when it comes to our pricing. Our numbers are real and we we’ll still be around to finish up the job we were hired to do because we know our costs and will not be on the neighbors job trying to cover our costs of your job.
“Word Of Mouth”
is the best advertising for
“Port Royal Faux Finishing”
especially when the right kind of standard has been set for
a Port Royal Faux Finishing quality
However “doing a little better on the price” can break a job very quickly and is not good for anyone especially for the one who’s left at the final end holding the stick. Know what I mean?
10 thoughts on “Port Royal Faux Finishing”
Great site Arthur. So much great info. Lot to learn from you. I appreciate your optimism during these difficult times. Can’t believe we(America) have voted to “hit the iceberg”.
Thanks Rod, I had a look at your site and liked what I saw also, as far as hitting an iceberg is just one way to put it lightly, lol
Art, I like the point. I have had too many discussions with fellow finishers (living in the midwest of course, lol!) that believe we should have our prices comparable, this that, etc. All though it is great to have wonderful communication and report, you can’t base prices on this. There are just too many other variables that affect the quality of workmanship other than “we all do the same thing”!
Hi Denise good to see you back again, yes it’s true what you say but you’re missing the point of this post, this has to do with the clients trusting our individual pricing as being real and not asking us to do things cheaper other than choosing a less expensive finish rather than trying to make changes to the one they do like to make it less expensive without sacrificing quality or even safety.
I agree 100% with what you are saying! Bravo! I have clients that don’t blink an eye at spending a exorbit price on artwork to hang on their walls, but want to haggle about pricing. I won’t do it, I tell them exactly what you said above, I do excellent craftsmanship, I use the best products that I know will last and you are getting an original piece of art work on your wall, furniture etc. just like the art work you spent money on to put on the walls! They usually see it my way, and if not like you said then go hire the novice artist. I am from the panhandle of Florida and also do a lot of furniture painting and woodgraining
Hi Sharon, you’re also are right, and I suppose there are many different ways that one could look at this article and I am interested in seeing how many other views we get. The main thing is to make sure the client is fully aware of the risks involved of their own decisions and not to try and place blame on anything other than that which is why I threw in the quip about the brain surgeon and the proctologist. I realize of course there’s no comparison but my point is the last thing I would want to hear from either one is, “Whoops….uh oh!” lol because I took a chance on wanting to save a few bucks. There are some things you just don’t question price on and art is one of them. If you want Wal-Mart go shop Wal-Mart and don’t waste the time of a professional is my point because quite frankly I don’t care what others are charging and I don’t compete that way.
Arthur, Please accept my apology for my rude comments this morning. I must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed. (That’s still no excuse).
Hi Norma, Wrong? , I found nothing wrong with your comment and actually thought of it as good criticism, lol The fact is you were right about what you said. You should see some of the other emails I get about my writing, lol. This is why blogging is so huge on the personal side, because it shows the human side of people and proves that we’re not perfect. Take for instance writers like Mark Twain who butchered the English language to personalize his characters in his books. When they spoke you could actually put a voice, a face, a personality to the sentence that’s written. Art is the same way, if we all followed the rules, well then it would stop being art would it not?…I actually enjoy the criticism from an obviously intelligent individuals because it opens doors to some great conversation. After all you’re not going to get it from watching television which I rarely do if at all because quite frankly it insults my intelligence most of the time lol.
Thanks for stopping by, it really has been a pleasure, you’re welcome anytime …..
You’ll probably delete me from future contacts but welcome to my little “pet peeve” world. Some call me a “word police”. While reading your article, your lead-in word is “weather”….meaning:the condition of the atmosphere. I’m sure you meant “whether”: introducing alternatives. See what I mean about peeves? I could go on & on with other words: your for you’re,etc. Sorry to waste your time. You’re a very good writer.
Hi Norma, Thanks for taking the time, Rarely do I ever take criticism negatively especially when it comes from someone who is just as passionate of their art as I am. Of anyone I know that needed the “word police” more, it would most certainly be me. I have been told by more than one person that it’s uncanny how I can butcher the English language and creatively still get my point across. What would be waste of time is if I didn’t learn from the criticism then it would be a waste of your time, thanks for stopping you’re welcome here anytime….