Welcome to my world! It is so true that the spaces in which we live and work have a profound effect on our lives. Every room has a "feel", and that is not just because of the furniture or what's hanging on the walls, but also the walls themselves! With Decorative Painting, more than a simple flat color is used to bring a space to life. Texture, patterning, hand painted elements. or even full wall art, can completely transform a space from one feeling to another. My goal is to fully explore ideas with my clients to find a treatment that will most personalize and best manifest a room's potential. Let's have some fun!
My journey as a decorative artist began long before I knew such a profession even existed. While taking art classes at Cornell University, I discovered that I was fascinated not just by color and shape, but texture as well. Indeed, I found myself creating paintings where texture was the most important element. But at that time music was my focus and after finding my way to the Bay Area, I spent many years there playing music professionally. The day I discovered decorative painting, however, was a real turning point in my life. It was a revelation that a visual artist could make a living outside the world of galleries!
In 1996 I met Elisa Stancil of Stancil Studios and spent several years apprenticing with her. After a shorter stint with Willem Racke, I started out on my own. Since 2002 I've been working directly with designers and homeowners to enrich and beautify homes and businesses, employing tried and true techniques I learned while apprenticing, as well as developing original and unique treatments of my own. In these pages, you will find a sampling of the work I have done in the Bay Area and other parts of the country.
Forever curious about different art forms, in 2014 I graduated from the Laney College Graphic Arts Program. Since then I've been taking my skills as an artist and decorative painter in a new and sometimes digital direction to create graphics for print and web as well as original stencil motifs. Paint will, however, always be my first true love.
Look for my work on "Curb Appeal", and in issues of "Better Homes and Gardens", "Departures", and "DK Travel Guide".