Paint, the Great Experiment

The other day, I was in my favorite magazine shop, Juicy News, on Fillmore Street in San Francisco (tell me where you find your favorite mags!). The awning says Barron's but everyone I talk to still calls it Juicy News, the old name for this cubby of a store packed with big inspiration! It's where I first found design magazines that are still my favorites today- Objekt, World of Interiors, ...

[caption id="attachment_4610" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Tell me this doesn't make your heart sing just a little..."][/caption]

Anyway, on this visit an issue of Vogue Living caught my eye...

[caption id="attachment_4613" align="aligncenter" width="492" caption="Notice the molding painted in random unfinished washes of color... I'm in love..."][/caption]

I picked it up and swear I heard angels singing... on the cover is a Paris apartment that's home to French milliner turned shoe designer, Philippe Model. I flipped through pages of his paneled rooms washed in patches and brush strokes of bright spontaneous color.  It took me back to the years in San Francisco when I was discovering my passion for paint...

I painted every surface of my little studio in a different finish- several times! I was practicing, experimenting, playing really as I honed my craft and aesthetic...

[caption id="attachment_4616" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Where Philippe painted his moldings, I was actually painting my walls to look like they had moldings and panels. It became a signature style I recreated for several clients in many different colors and styles..."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4618" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Notice this wall behind the sofa? Same wall as above, different treatment..."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4634" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="I painted the harlequin pattern in three different color schemes. The hallway later became red with a rustic rough finish (with some orange and red harlequins of course!). Recognize the chandelier sans the bottom ring and center drop? (it's in my bedroom today) Even with those pieces removed most everyone had to duck under it to get by... ah the good ol' days"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4624" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Even my doors got painted... notice the writing on the wall in my bathroom..."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4619" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="This also became a signature treatment. To the left I partially stripped the window trim revealing layers of color beneath a heavy coat of white semi-gloss. I made the little towel holder from the railing of the crib I slept when I was little."][/caption]

Of course, I was always rearranging my furniture and eventually incorporated interior design into my services, but this is still my first love. I can't image design without paint or paint without design. I feel grateful to have found my passion. It drives me crazy in the best (it makes me sooo happy) and worst (I never feel like I've learned, practiced, or pushed myself enough) ways. I wouldn't trade that drive for anything.