February 28th, 2010

Faux Plus Design

I’d like to welcome another friend and decorative finisher to the blogging world. Debbie Hayes is a very talented Greensboro, NC decorative artist who has been featured a few times before on this blog. 

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Her new blog,  Faux Plus Design showcases her photography and literary talents (she’s a former newspaper editor) as well as her artistic skills. Debbie has accompanied me on several of the painting adventures abroad that I’ve been involved with in the past, including France, Morocco, and Italy.

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She talks about these (and her ongoing wanderlust) in some recent blog posts, including one on Moroccan Souk kitties….

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…and one on our last trip to Italy.

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Some of these travels have inspired the color-saturated decoration of her amazing, inviting studio!

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I am happy that Debbie (and her talents and ever-ready camera) will be joining us on our next trip to Italy this coming Fall. To find out more about trips to both Italy and Morocco, click here….

February 21st, 2010

Inspired by Italy

You may have noticed that I have been absolutely HORRIBLE at accomplishing regular blog postings lately. Between a multitude of major new projects, trade show preparations, planning painting trips, and a honeymoon and a wedding (in that order), there seems to be precious little time to stop and EXPLAIN what I’m up to (and up against!). SO-this post is designed to cover a few topics at once, based somewhat loosely around a theme. Here goes….

Aaah, Italia. So enchanting, so delicioso, so artistically inspiring!! Italy is just one of the countries that have inspired the finishes offered in the upcoming European Cabinet Finishes class that we will be hosting here at the studio in June. Barb Skivington’s class draws from inspiration gained from past painting trips with me to both Italy and France, as well as finishes interpreted from the highly popular new Belgian look and what I see as an emerging trend towards Spanish-inspired design and fashion.

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If you’d like to explore the possibilities and benefits gained from taking this class, Barb and I have created an informative free 30-minute webinar for the new Design Your Success site (another new project!) that details these elegant finishes and their possibilities for application. Barb has an extensive background as an artist AND and educator and was featured in this recent profile in The Faux Finisher that I authored.

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Speaking of inspiring trips to Italy, and attempting a not so subtle segue; there is an upcoming opportunity for YOU to join us on a return trip to enchanting Italy this coming October. Gary Lord, Alison Woolley and myself are planning a return to the sights of two previous painting adventure tours, the Castello di Casigliano  in Umbria and La Fattoria di Maiano in Florence with our upcoming Art in the Heart of Italy trip.

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These trips offer so much in addition to all the inspiration that the natural and man-made beauty of Italy provides.

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The friendships that are formed through shared experiences…

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and educational classes and group painting projects is truly unique and special. Are you feeling inspired?!

European Cabinet Finishes Class
Art in the Heart of Italy Trip

February 11th, 2010

Azulejos

Azulejos, traditional Portuguese tiles, are a highly recognizable expression of Portuguese culture and a great contribution to the world’s artistic heritage. The ceramic techniques and glazing methods were adapted during the centuries long ago when Christian and Islamic-Moorish cultures coexisted on the Iberian peninsula on the Western edge of Europe. It was there that the idea of combining large amounts of glazed-tile decor with architecture was adopted and developed with amazing abandon.

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I have had this book on Portuguese decorative tiles on my bookshelf for some time now. It is the kind of book where you wish you could just walk right into the pages. Just by looking you can experience the coolness of the glazed tiles under your hand, stand in centuries old rooms, and smell the flowers and orange blossoms in the garden. My wish for this will be coming true this April when I visit the lovely little country of Portugal for the first time while on my honeymoon. I will be visiting many of these very spots in Lisbon and Sintra. I can already smell the old plaster walls and the flowers…..

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February 9th, 2010

Sideways

Sideways….a classic name for a classic movie about one of my favorite things….wine! Another of my favorite things? Cool customer project photos showing interesting applications for our Modello patterns. For example, these two photos from two different artists showing a horizontal (sideways!) application of one of our contemporary allover designs, ModAll129.

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For this project on a glass backsplash, Lesley Anne Kinney of Decorating Divas RI used a reverse painting technique using oil paint and mica powders to create a contemporary woodgrain look. Awesome!

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Barb Skivington of Faux Works used a similar idea recently for a builders showcase project in Greensboro, N.C. It this case, Barb painted on MDF to create a contemporary headboard. She ran the design vertically but on very horizontal surface. Classy!

Pssst! Check out this article that I wrote on Barb and her art and business for the latest issue of The Faux Finisher……