THE STROGANOFF MUSEUM On my quest to find decorative painting around the world, during the annual salon event, I found these gems in St. Petersburg, Russia. This is part one of a two part blog. History- The Stroganoff’s were Russia’s most influential and wealthy family whose entrepreneurship was significant within the patronage of the arts. The […]
Trompe l’oeil ornament
August 2, 2016 by 3 Comments
Here is the finished painting of the trompe l’oeil ornament piece I completed at Salon in St. Petersberg, Russia. I was asked to do a live demonstration about a large scale ceiling ornament that is meant to be looked at from a fair distance. The scale of the ornament accentuates the shadows and highlights to be more legible. […]
Salon 2016-St. Petersburg
July 15, 2016 by 1 Comment
Salon 2016 Salon 2016 was held in Russia this year in the cultural center of St. Petersburg. This annual event for the International Decorative Artisans League was hosted by Tatiana Rugers. The theme for Salon 2016 was “Art in the City” and below is a part of a panel someone did of the city. This was the main showroom […]
NYC Trompe l’oeil Class 2013
December 11, 2013 by 1 Comment
Our NYC trompe l’oeil class for 2013 was a success! We had a full house of students in our tiny little Manhattan studio. The students began the 3-day adventure with a medallion study. This is an invaluable exercise that forces the student to learn by repetition. See post on this study. Once the students had […]
PFI Medallion Contest Winner: Dee Cunningham
November 15, 2013 by 3 Comments
Congratulations Dee Cunningham! “A painting starts with a series of sketches. To get to this point there are several hours of research, designing, discussions with the client, revisions, then final approval. Sometimes the sketch is done in color. For this piece, we had images of stone that we selected for age, color and patina. I […]
PFI MEDALLION CONTEST
September 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Show me your best painted medallion! Rendering a profiled, circular object is a great challenge and exercise for a decorative painter. I have a specific way of creating my trompe l’oeil effects (see my step-by-step post). I have also seen many different styles and approaches that are successful. Show me how you do it! The […]
The Medallion Step by Step
August 30, 2013 by 1 Comment
Here’s a great medallion step-by-step in the process of trompe l’oeil . For those of you who attend the IDAL annual expo, you may have seen me demonstrate this process at my booth. Or, maybe you’ve seen it in my book, The Art of Faux. (The Art of Faux – me with a younger hand) […]
Ceiling Ornament in New Orleans
August 8, 2013 by 3 Comments
The fifth wall is a neck-breaker but it well worth it for the visual impact. This center ornament was painted on a wood ceiling in New Orleans. The ceiling in this grand room is high, so we agreed on this French ornamentation pattern along with a color palette that is aligned with the Cajun heritage. […]
Versailles Palace from a decorative painter’s eye: Real ornament
May 29, 2013 by 3 Comments
Exterior marble White Carrera, vein-less. You can really see the effect of rain over the years – see the rounding of the carvings. This is a classic, super ornate ceiling. Typical of 19th c and created under Louis Philippe. Notice the trompe l’oeil door. There’s amazing detail achieved in this 18th c, Louis XVI ornament. […]
An Ornament in 4 Basic Steps
January 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
This is a quick visual guide to completing an ornament in 4 basic steps. It is the final post of a 4- part series of a panel I did for the International event for decorative painters called SALON. This particular gathering was in Hamburg, Germany and the theme was “the harbor”. Check out these 4 […]
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