Custom murals and faux finish walls

New mural projects developing in (almost) real time.

2009-09-19T10:56:00.000-07:00

Using my iPhone, some social media services and my new Wordpress blog, I've been tracking two mural projects developing this summer/fall, one almost completed and a second well underway.

Here's a picture of the almost done Cafe Mundo mural:

Anyway, this is just a reminder that I'm not keeping this blog regularly updated except for my Twitter updates at the top-left, so for more mural painting and faux finish project photos, updates and more, please check out johnhiemstra.com, follow me on Twitter or find me FaceBook, both are connected to these updates.

New Faux Finish Classes (finally!) posted at the San Diego Finishing School.com

2009-07-18T16:16:00.000-07:00

The show of my paintings at Joe Bedford's Coalesce came together really well for last Friday's opening reception.

Another thanks to everyone who came out to Little Italy, though I'm supposed to focus on the faux and mural painting on this blog and leave the rest to my new Wordpress blog www.johnhiemstra.com".

The real reason for this (on-topic)post is to make sure anyone reading this who is interested in my teaching about faux finishing and mural painting in San Diego know that I've FINALLY scheduled two sequential days of semi-private painting classes at the Banker's Hill studio I share with HGTV Design Star Jen Guerin at the end of the month.

These will be complete intensives in my entire set of strategies for utilizing water-based media to achieve an incredible array of faux and painted finish effects.

Learn to interpret other surfaces and finishes and design your own one-of-a-kind painted finishes with non-toxic, low to zero VOC materials in creative ways that help position your faux-finishing or custom painting business for success.

Sky Painting Show opens this Friday July 10

2009-07-05T17:14:00.001-07:00

Spent a couple hours of this gorgeous San Diego Sunday in the studio working on the sky paintings for this week, here's a quick picture:

The show of my paintings with Joseph Bedford's custom furniture opens this Friday at Joe's Little Italy space Bedford Built. Our reception is part of the first "NoLi Notte" or "North Little Italy Nights, which is a monthly art event that's emerged out of Kettner Nights.

The first round of "Little and Large" shows open at other spaces that night in Little Italy, but my wife Heather will be joining Joe and I in his space at 2360 India Street to debut her LifeChain project.

If you haven't seen the LifeChain series of videos we've done of Heather in her studio, I'm putting the first episode here below; I'll be posting parts 3 and 4 tomorrow on Heather's new WordPress blog at www.heather-reilly.com/sdmetalsmith. Check it out!

Return to the Sky Paintings

2009-06-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

In addition to my teaching projects and a surge in new phone calls for custom painting and faux finishing work, I've been busy working on my own paintings for the first time in almost two years!

If you've been following along you know I've been working in art marketing, picture framing and a few other creative niches in San Diego in that time, and to be honest, I wasn't even looking for a show this summer, or really anytime.

Studio mate Jen Guerin introduced me to furniture designer Joseph Bedford, who needed a show for the July 10 opening of "NoLi Notte" ("North Little Italy Nights") in San Diego's newest art & design district, (you guessed it) Little Italy, conveniently located down the street from my house and studio.

I've been doing chalk art and ArtWalk in Little Italy since 2002 and a fan of Little Italy art galleries Seminal Projects and Noel Baza since last year, so its will be fun to see my own stuff in a gallery for a different perspective.

Anyway, more coming on these paintings soon, but here's a quick pictures of the two "Colisseum" paintings that have been sitting, moving and getting stacked over and over while taped and masked for all that time, here getting work on a sunny afternoon in the 5th Avenue studio (time that was a Father's Day gift from my family!)

SDFS partner and HGTV celeb Jen Guerin!

2009-06-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled for my studio mate Jen Guerin whose participation in this summer's new edition of DesignStar on HGTV was just announced-- congratulations, Jen!

Here's a screenshot of HGTV page featuring Jen, click the image to check it out directly.

Check out Jen's first video from the show here.

And if you're in San Diego, come by Tin Can Ale House four doors up from our studio this Friday night to see Jen's newest fine art pieces, and meet Jen in person before you have to go through her publicist (Design Star premiere is July 18).

Back to murals and faux finishes here....

2009-06-22T03:46:00.000-07:00

If you've been following this blog, you'll know that I've ranged all over my different activities here despite the very specific title "hand painted murals, faux finish walls".

Well, now that I've decided to follow my own advice an develop my primary online catalog with WordPress software (sorry, Google), I'm going to get this blog dialed back down to specifics of my mural and faux jobs only, and talk about the rest of my various work on johnhiemstra.com, a new WordPress blog which will cover my fine art projects, promotional and marketing work for my clients, updates on my teaching project for artists and small creative business at the San Diego Finishing School and all the other bits that don't really belong here under the current title.

So check out johnhiemstra.com when you have a chance, even though its brand new, for updates on other projects, back catalog pictures of jobs in process, and what will eventually be a truly comprehensive portfolio of my work, including old furniture design from San Francisco, stage work from North Carolina School of the Arts, and my web and print work for my marketing clients.

The first posts will be about my upcoming show of original paintings here in San Diego's Little Italy at Bedford Designs with furniture designer Joe Bedford. The show opens July 10 in conjunction with NoLi Notte, the latest incarnation of the Kettner Nights evening art walk in Little Italy.

I hope to see you there!

adapting, painting, teaching & following my own advice

2009-06-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

What happens when you learn enough new stuff to radically alter your current opinions about running a business?

I've always preferred the word "adapt" when it comes to my creative endeavors, art, business or fun, and so over the last few weeks I've been adapting to a few new circumstances and "ah-ha" moments that have required some serious consideration.

I haven't tried to keep up with my posts and updates, which some of you have noticed since keeping up with kids and your own business is already more than enough for one person to do when combined with any kind of serious soul searching.

Fortunately, I have continuing demand for my various services, and more than one "ah-ha" had to do with delivering these services in better ways to the wider audience I've been developing through my online portfolio, this blog, and on Twitter, one of the many social media tools I teach other artists, contractors and small businesses to survive in the new economy.

So look for some changes and and new info over the summer with what I'm doing online as I respond to what's going on around us using the same theories and strategies about online marketing and social media integration that I teach my students.

Of course I'm still running a mural and faux finish business, and even though my marketing tools need tweaking, they've been running solid in bringing the work to me even in this economy. So here are some pictures of a little mural job I fit into my schedule this week at the new Broken Yolk Cafe in the Gaslamp, for everyone who wants to hear about hand painted murals and faux finish walls.

Per my usual, this painting project includes multiple elements of scale drawing, faux painting and aging techniques, and brand continuity-- everyone in San Diego probably recognizes their graphic from the flagship cafe in Pacific Beach.

The desired aged style of this piece was based on another San Diego restaurant mural project I did last year at the now all-new Lucky D's Bar & Grill.

Stage Design: "La Boheme" edition project for Franco Colavecchia

2009-05-31T08:46:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I've been excited for Franco's show here in San Diego is that it coincides nicely with the development of my Artist Services' project at The Frame Maker, specifically the fine art reproduction capabilities of the project provided through our partner Moebius Color.

As a student of stage design, I love Franco's stage design rendering work for its accuracy to the stage experience. I don't mean realism, but a painterly immediacy that transports you directly into the theatre audience; they are after all, stage design renderings, even though I admire them primarily as paintings, and their true function is to talk about a production of the design on a real stage with real people in real time.

That said, I find the timeless quality inherent in great paintings in Franco's best stage rendering work, yet, for a variety of reasons, much of it is unavailable to be seen or shown in the original ever again. This is where the Artist Services' project comes in.

Working together with Raber Umphenour of MOSDO, the Museum of Stage Design Online, San Diego Artist Services is proud introduce the first of a series of small fine art editions reprinting selected images from over 30 years of Franco's stage design rendering for theatre and opera.

In 1982, while living in New York City, Franco's designed the sets for Philadelphia Opera's "La Boheme" featuring Luciano Pavarotti. This production went on to tour Italy, and the subsequent PBS production won a series of Emmy awards.

This set of six different scenes and design concepts from La Boheme have been scanned from the original slides shot to document the work at the time and are printed in the original monochrome palette at full size, approximately 20" x 14" on heavy archival paper with UV resistant inks.

Here's a screen version of the second rendering of the six:

The first complete sets of six will be reviewed by Franco this week during his annual teaching visit to San Diego and presented as signed artist's proofs in his show "Franco Colavecchia: SoHo Memory Paintings", opening reception this Thursday June 4 in The Frame Maker showroom.

This is the first west coast show of Franco's work and the first appearance of any kind of reproduction of Franco's work anywhere, so if you live in southern California and are interested in theater stage design, come check this show out and meet Franco at a rare San Diego event on Thursday night!

Distinguished Artist & Designer Franco Colavecchia in San Diego!!

2009-05-26T11:19:00.000-07:00

If you've been following this blog, you may remember how excited I've been for Franco's annual arrival in San Diego this year, partly because Franco is a dear friend and mentor to me as an artist, partly because we are presenting a show of his original paintings at The Frame Maker this summer, with an opening reception for Franco next Thursday June 4, 2009.

Called "SoHo Memories" after the series of paintings Franco began as he battled to retain his eyesight 1997-98. These paintings focus on the New York of Franco's career in the 1980's designing stage sets for New York City Opera and Luciano Pavaratti, among others.

Franco was also honored this year by the United States Institute of Theater Technology for his carrer achievement as a stage designer, so I'm reprinting this text from the USITT website here:

Franco Colavecchia has designed internationally for opera and theatre, working with Luciano Pavarotti, Gian Carlo Menotti, Frank Corsaro, and Ian Strasfogel among others such as Tommy Tune.

Mr. Colavecchia has designed productions for locations as varied as the New York City Opera, Chicago Lyric, Houston Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Washington Opera, New Opera Theater at B.A.M., Pittsburgh Opera, San Antonio Festival, The Music Opera Association/Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, Den Norske Opera in Oslo, The Wexford Opera Festival in Eire, and Glimmerglass Opera.

He designed the Italian tour and the Broadway version of La Boheme for Mr. Pavarotti. His work has been seen in numerous locations around the world and he has worked for The Oxford Playhouse, the Roundhouse, the Edinburgh Festival, and the York Festival in the United Kingdom.

He was the assistant to Julian Beck of the Living Theatre on the London Production of The Brig. His designs have also been seen on PBS television for La Boheme for Pavorotti in Philadelphia, Faust for the Opera Company in Philadelphia, Carmen for New York City Opera (Live from Lincoln Center) and Treemonisha for Houston Opera.

He has also worked on several documentary films and has exhibited his paintings and drawings extensively through out the country. His designs have been included in the Prague Quadrennial three times, and some of his work is in the permanent collection at the Tobin Collection in San Antonio.

He has taught and mentored numerous students at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he continues to paint and to design. He also has taught at DePaul University, Colgate University, SUNY Purchase, Carnegie Mellon, and Harvard University. He continues to be a guest lecturer in rendering all across the country.

Look for more on Franco and this show here and on The Frame Maker Events blog.

Rachael McDaniels at SDSU School of Art tonight

2009-05-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

I've been busier than expected this week with many different projects coming to fruition some new and unexpected and most welcome, too!

I'm creating this post for artist Rachael McDaniels, who I had the pleasure of meeting at ArtWalk, and whose initial presentation and smart follow through as an artist representing herself.

When I finally saw images of her work in my email, I made a note to share them, and news of Rachael's graduation installation, with you.

THIS SHOW OPENS TONIGHT, details below.

(sorry for the late notice, when someone decides to fund my personal assistant, please email me here!)

Timescapes
an Art Installation by Rachael McDaniel

Timescapes is an exploration of human and environmental transience. Extreme Landscapes, Scientific Imagery and other Curious Illustrations of Time created with Painting, Photography, Lithographic Prints, Found Objects, and Book Art will be on display.

Come to the Artist's Opening
Thursday May 21st 7pm-9pm

Or to the Commencement Show
Saturday May 23rd 4pm-6pm

School of Art at SDSU
Rm. 418

See http://art.sdsu.edu/school_information/
For Maps and Parking

Artist Services project on display now at The Frame Maker

2009-05-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

Reception this Friday May 15! at The Frame Maker, 3102 Reynard Way, 92103 (in Mission Hills north of Little Italy) for "Artists' Proof", a show of all six artists currently on staff at The Frame Maker exploring the digital reproduction capabilities of the my new San Diego Artist Services project(I wrote about this before both here and on the The Frame Maker Events and Design blogs as well.

Here's a picture of my contribution to the show, a series of 4 original collage/mixed media pieces digitally printed with outdoor,UV resistant inks right on to a new "advanced environmental composite" called ECOR™, stable, 100% post consumer waste panels that can be made to any size or depth.

Nice Note from Sandi Cottrell of ArtWalk on the Business of Art Scholarship Project

2009-05-10T23:48:00.000-07:00

In getting organized for the week after a long weekend, this was so nice to find in my email from the end of the week I had to post it here right away. Thanks, Sandi!

"John Hiemstra was the co-creator of the "Business of Art Scholarship"...something ArtWalk had hoped to do for 5 years, but John's enthusiasm for the project made it a reality.

Working with sponsor The Frame Maker, John took our SDSU scholarship winner under his wing and not only helped her create a booth display for the event, he packed the equivalent of ten years of real-life experience into two months of incredible mentoring.

Jessica Siemens, the scholarship winner, was privy to advice, information and perspective that professional artists acquire in a lifetime.

The entire experience was inspiring, and we look forward to providing the scholarship on an annual basis. It would not be possible without John's passionate involvement."

Franco Colavecchia coming to San Diego

2009-05-09T10:06:00.001-07:00

Memory-soho 15
Originally uploaded by Franco Colavecchia

Had to write quickly this morning about how happy I am to be welcoming Franco back to town (he teaches a two week class in scenic rendering at UCSD each spring), this time with something more!

This year, Franco has shipped ahead a crate of paintings which we just received yesterday at The Frame Maker. I unpacked them briefly to make sure they had made the trip okay (they did) and today I get to go down and sort through them in peace (the shop's closed!)

I don't know if any from this series are enclosed, but this is one of my faves from his Flickr stream, go check it out.

Announcing New Media marketing classes for artists in May!

2009-05-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

I posted info on the first classes I'm offering for professional artists this pring and the reborn San Diego Finishing School.

I'm excited to share with fellow working artists what I've learned and tested in using the various "New Media" marketing and self-publishing tools available online to sustain my business.

Serious about developing your small business (even if you're not an artist) using all the free powerful tools online, but not sure how to make sense of it all? This class is for you! Check out the details at San Diego Finishing School, two sessions scheduled in May, Tuesday May 12 6-9pm and Saturday May 23 9-12am.

Questions about what I'm teaching? Let me know with a comment, email or phone call 619. 654. 6208.

Old School Chargers and Padres Logos at Lucky D's

2009-05-04T14:08:00.000-07:00

I started to write about this project last fall shortly after it was completed, with trompe l'oeil brick and wallpaper paint treatments on new drywall to complement exposed, sandblasted brick of original building.

Because Lucky D's closed for business just a few months later, I didn't go on, but today I had an inquiry about doing weathered signage on original brick, so I'm posting up a few pictures of the rest of this commercial/hospitality painting project.

Once Dave had decided to go with the local sports theme, we thought up doing the original San Diego team logos on the brick wall behind the pool table. In addition to being the original logos from the 60's (part of Dave's theme at the time), I painted them in an aged or weathered fashion to look as if Dave had uncovered them from 30 years ago in the remodel.

Chargers and Padres logos on brick wall at Lucky D's downtown

The trompe l'oeil/faux aspects of this paint treatment worked out pretty well in context of the overall "age" of the bar. I will put up some more contextual photos later, but here's a couple of detail shots for now.

painted San Diego Chargers logo

painted San Diego Padres logo

New Classes, Testimonial at San Diego Finishing School

2009-05-03T17:23:00.000-07:00

Recovering from ArtWalk, getting ready to launch the next show at The Frame Maker, and launching new classes and artist services programs at the revived San Diego Finishing School this coming week-- exciting times!

I will publish class schedule on both sites and must say I'm really looking forward to sharing new marketing information and strategies with artists looking to improve their business models, practices and sales.

Even though I haven't been "officially" teaching, I've been able to try ideas and new media strategies out with my wife Heather's custom jewelry business here in San Diego, the Business of Art mentoring project with Jessica Siemens that I set up with ArtWalk, and with the artists I've been privileged to work with at The Frame Maker over the last few months.

In fact one of the reasons I'm stoked today about what's coming up next is the great testimonial I got today from San Diego glass artist Lea de Wit about our work together that I published on the SDFS site-- check out one artists' version of why it works to work with me on your business and marketing skills.

Introducing San Diego Artist Services

2009-04-23T19:49:00.001-07:00

This project started coming to life at The Frame Maker, where I've been seeking new ways to develop sustainable work and cash flow, a concern central to many small business these days.

As an artist, I have always sought to find service providers who understood my business as well as I did, but rarely have I ever been able to find more than a couple of people at a time to create a cohesive working unit.

Now in San Diego I am blessed with four savvy business partners in the art services field to create an expert service network for professional artists, called San Diego Artist Services.

The first collaborative fruit of us working together is the new show at The Frame Maker and the cool booth spaces we've created this weekend for southern California's largest outdoor art gallery, Mission Federal ArtWalk.

I've posted a few development details on The Frame Maker blogs, but here is the first look of my overview of the San Diego Artist Services project as a private sector economic stimulus action that dovetails nicely with our green objectives by acting locally to serve the community we love in a stressful time.

This is actually a detail of one of the print graphics I prepared for The Frame Maker booth this weekend that's been printed beautifully by Peter Moebius, Mike Miller and the team at Moebius Color, one of our collaborators on the project:

San Diego Finishing School Returns!

2009-04-21T23:48:00.001-07:00

Just today I've published the new site for my San Diego Finishing School project, teaching professional skills to faux finish artists, muralists and painters and teaching new media marketing to art professionals.

I have a new space I'm sharing with my friend Jen Guerin in Banker's Hill, a short walk from our house and two steps to Balboa Park and downtown.

Check it out at www.sandiegofinishingschool.com, I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Business of Art Scholarship Studio Visit

2009-04-16T23:53:00.001-07:00

I love this picture of Jessica in the studio over at SDSU. We had a solid meeting about the body of work she is developing and how best to select and present in the 10' x10' booth space provided by ArtWalk.

I'm actually going to continue writing about the Business of Art Scholarship project-- created with Sandi Cottrell of ArtWalk, The Frame Maker, Arthur Ollman of the SDSU School of Art, and of course scholarship winner artist Jessica Siemens-- on another blog I just started with an address some of you might recognize, sandiegofinishingschool.com.

Yes, the SanDIego Finishing School returns at long last, relocated with a redefined mission here in Banker's Hill. Stay tuned for more.

Trompe l'oeil painting pictures as promised

2009-04-11T18:03:00.001-07:00

stonetrompeloeil2
Originally uploaded by John Hiemstra

I have had a few requests to show more pix from the children's room circus mural project I painted last summer in an absolutely stunning historic home here in San Diego.

The circus room is only one of the treatments I designed and produced in this home, so along with rest of circus pictures, I uploaded the best pix of the trompe l'oeil/faux stone treatment I created for the majestic entrance and central gathering room of this unique home to my photostream on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnhiemstra/.

They're not sorted or tagged yet, but they're there.

Face's Home

2009-04-09T00:21:00.001-07:00

Face's Home
Originally uploaded by siemens.jessica

Anyone who follows my work knows how much I love a contextual photo, and so, why I'm so proud of Jessica for taking initiative to get this photo up on her Flickr page.

If you haven't read about this yet, I am very pleased to be mentoring Jessica in a new "Business of Art" program I helped create with Sandi Cottrell of Mission Federal ArtWalk.

Check out Jessica's lovely work on Flickr (for now) and keep in mind she's been painting for just two years--

If you consider I've been painting for more than 20 years, you'll get why I'm so impressed with her work so far and also why I'm honored to work with her on her business as an artist, because she clearly has the potential to create truly spectacular work when she hits full stride.

Venetian Plaster Ceiling

2009-04-07T21:49:00.001-07:00

On the theme of finishing up old business (see last post), I came across pictures of some past projects I've been meaning to publish, but haven't yet for variety of reasons.

So here's a room I'm really pleased with for its light touch but authoritative impact.

The yellow panels behind the piano are a simple acrylic faux finish that corresponds with the walls in the main room that includes the piano room (where this picture is taken from), I have pictures of that room somewhere, too now that I think about it.

The plaster ceiling is designed to correspond to that color but offer the depth and richness of the piano finish with dramatic reflectance and glow of highly polished wax finish over burnished venetian plaster.

Little Italy Chalk/Paint Trompe L'oeil: The (almost) Final Chapter

2009-04-03T14:50:00.001-07:00

If anyone reading this recalls my first series of blog posts ever back in 2006, they're probably going to think "WTF? That isn't done yet?" when they see these pictures.

Yes, its finally done and I can prove it with pictures of the Little Italy crew carrying my three panels of Michelangelo out to the their truck two and a half years after I started them.

Rather than tell the whole long story right now, I'm just going to post afew detail pictures of the final product that no one will be able to see when its finally installed in Little Italy; its supposed to hang outdoors, four stories over India Street at Beech, so when I can get those pictures up, I''l finish the tale.

For now its a beautiful day in San Diego and this project is complete!

Dot connection

2009-04-01T23:30:00.000-07:00

I love it when this kind of thing happens:

One friend of mine, photographer Mike Brown, calls me up to say that he saw some of photographer Maire Scharpegge's work at the new sushi place by our house here in Banker's Hill, San Diego.

Having been in touch with Maire fairly regularly since opening her show "Echoes" at The Frame Maker with glass artist Lea de Wit, I was a little surprised, and had to think about the connection, since I had nothing to do with these pieces being in this restaurant!

Since I was walking that way later, I decided to check it out for myself, thinking that I had only been there once since they opened, when I recalled that I had run into my associate Eric Gilliat (of Level One Art Installation) there with family. Eric had explained to me that he had known the proprietor for years at his previous establishment, and that his new place we were in Azuki Sushi was the best sushi in town.

Since Eric had been kind enough to assist us with the installation of Echoes back in January, where he met Maire for the first time, it became clear that Eric was the hookup between Maire and the restaurant. Now that's a creative community working together, especially because Maire's abstract photography, printed on stainless steel by local print masters Moebius Color, are PERFECT in the Azuki space:

Remember that we are so pleased with the original show at The Frame Maker that we extended it through April, when (I just found out) Maire and Lea will then take "Echoes" to a booth at ArtWalk the weekend of April 25-26 in Little Italy. If you live in San Diego, you've got another month come down and see this terrific show!

Green picture framing | painting update

2009-03-31T22:16:00.000-07:00

So much going on on the last day of the month I barely have time to write, and in April things really get busy.

I just finished another custom picture frame moulding project with The Frame Maker, this one with a "green" design angle, for San Diego architect James Brown of Public.

His new show, "The Third Country/El Tercer Pais" opens this week at The Athenaeum in La Jolla. Its the first installment of a three-part exhibition (continuing at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego this summer) that explores "...through models and drawings, the nature of boundary, and linear patterns that might later translate into new strategies of designing the frontier.”

These beautiful little conceptual drawings are presented in moulding I milled for Jim by request from poplar, a sustainable, fast growing timber that Jim has used for many of his project sin the past.

I'm writing more about this project and the green aspects of using this lumber and some of the other materials usedin Jim's frames over on The frame Maker's Design blog, so let me get on to some other fun here.

I am finally finishing a painting project from 2006 that some of you may remember as a chalk project that was one of the first things I wrote about on this blog. I will get into the whole long story in the next few posts, but here's a quick pic from my temporary back yard studio of the almost finished rendering of an Italian master that will be hanging in Little Italy in time for this spring's annual Art Walk event.

Stay tuned for more on ArtWalk over the next month as I roll out my new Artist Services program in conjunction with 2009 ArtWalk event sponsor The Frame Maker, ArtWalk and the SDSU Art Department.

SDSU Children's Center A-is-for-Art comes to The Frame Maker

2009-03-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

This is another cool program happening over at San Diego State that I've been able to encourage and assist as the Marketing Director of The Frame Maker.

With the dedicated work of professional artists supporting them, pre-schoolers from 18 months up to five years old at the SDSU Children's Center explore art-making all year long. The program culminates with each group of kids creating a piece of "finished work" that then goes into a group show. The pieces are auctioned off at the show with the proceeds going to fund programming at the Children's Center.

We helped out the A-is-for-Art program last year with a quick frame job for twenty of the canvases. This year not only are we framing up some paintings, but we're hosting a selection of the work in The Frame Maker showroom for the next ten days, too, with a reception on Tuesday evening, March 24, from 5.30-8.00pm, with refreshment courtesy of North Park's Urban Solace. A preview:

So ome check it out in person, meet some of the artists, parents and staff who make this incredible program possible. You can read more about A-is-for-Art at http://as.sdsu.edu/child/aisforart.html . More preview pictures of the new installation at The Frame Maker below.

ECHOES extended @ The Frame Maker

2009-03-20T00:16:00.000-07:00

A few posts ago, I wrote about how happy I was with the show ECHOES now at The Frame Maker here in San Diego. I connected and assisted two artists, glass artist Lea de Wit and photographer Maire Scharpegge, create a very successful show.

So successful we've extended ECHOES through April 21st, when we begin preparing for our next show. So if you haven't seen this show yet, here's a picture, and you can scroll down to the past few posts for more. Because of the materials involved (glass and stainless steel) and their unique reflective properties, you should see this show in person.

Both artists have been gracious enough to replace the works we've already sold, so that the show is as robust as at the beginning, even though today there is a piece out on approval. I also want to add that as a mentor in the business-of-art department, I am especially proud of these two for their efforts and follow-through!

(So go visit them online:
glass artist Lea de Wit
photographer Maire Scharpegge)

Business of art mentoring scholarship for SDSU art students

2009-03-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited about a new program I've developed with Sandi Cottrell of ArtWalk this year to mentor a SDSU art department student through the process of preparing, presenting and promoting a show of his or her work at ArtWalk as the launch and springboard of his or her business as a professional artist.

I'll write more about details later, today I want to share this pic of our first scholarship winner, Jessica Siemans. Taken last night with her purchase-award piece "Face" in the SDSU art galleries last night after the awards ceremony, this picture only shows a fraction of Jessica's energy and enthusiasm for her work.

It was really a pleasure to meet Jessica and feel the energy and excitement of all the artists present, student and faculty both. Definitely look for more posts about this project through April 25 & 26, the weekend of ArtWalk 2009--I'm really looking forward to the whole process and excitement of an artist getting response to their work and results for their efforts. I'll probably put up links to a new site blog specifically about this project as part of my new Art & Artist Services project with The Frame Maker.

Paintings by Franco Colavecchia

2009-03-16T22:00:00.001-07:00

doublehead
Originally uploaded by Franco Colavecchia

I have been reveling in the work of my friend and mentor at NCSA Franco Colavecchia, who has a remarkable body of work assembled on Flickr.

Fortunately for us, Franco began teaching once a year at UCSD shortly after Heather and I moved to San Diego, so we've been able to stay in somewhat regular touch.

This summer is a special treat, because I'll be organizing a show of Franco's work, original paintings and original scenic renderings both, here in San Diego at The Frame Maker.

More on that later, go check out Franco on Flickr.

Not so fast, somebody needs something painted.

2009-03-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

Humorously, not long after my last post, I got two different custom painting/faux finishing jobs, one larger (a new office), one smaller (a 6'x 6' painting that needs repaired/ refurbished).

Funny how that works.

Its not like I wasn't utilizing all those skills at The Frame Maker. I'm just posting some details on the Design blog there about some of the custom finishes we created last year for some specific projects, projects I had forgotten about until sorting pictures this past weekend.

The first custom finish post is about a painted wood grain finish I did for a client in a hurry when their first choice moulding was out of stock for far longer than the time frame when they needed them.

In this picture, the corner sample at the back is the goal: a clear finish over a lightly stained softwood with a simple tight grain, kind of a chestnut color. In this profile, we couldn't get that finish in time. What we could get was the same profile in a very dark chocolate-mahogany color ("espresso"). The moulding lengths in the foreground are actually a painted and glazed finish over what began as an almost black translucent wood finish.

The client wasn't just thrilled with the match of the painted faux finish, but with the on time delivery and installation of her framed pieces. The out-of-stock problem which started out of our control ended up providing us with the opportunity to deliver a clutch solution and an absolutely premium level of customer service.

Since that was part of my consulting spec at the time, I'm very pleased with this particular job to this day.

Current faux finish and mural work?

2009-03-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

I've had more than a few inquiries from friends asking what I've got going for faux finish and mural projects right now, and the right answer is not one I've ever admitted before.

Right now? None.

I don't have an active contract right now to paint anything for anyone.

Fortunately, this isn't the same concern for me right now it could be otherwise. In the too-rare instance of me practicing what I preach, diversification has allowed me to remain relatively unstressed by economy, media gloom & panicked peers.

Rather, many of the business and marketing skills I had developed over the years to grow my mural and faux-painting business are now much in demand as everyone's business (and outlook) contracts to some degree.

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know I've been heavily involved in someone else's business for over a year now at The Frame Maker. I link to their website here because it is my most developed example of helping a business both 1) strengthen its bond with existing clients and 2)actually gain new clients in a shrinking marketplace driven by uncertainty and fear.

Designed and built by my company from scratch, The Frame Maker site and blogs (always featured on the left panel of this blog) help deliver real value to existing clients looking for info and examples and potential clients looking for the best custom picture framer in town.

These new web design and marketing consulting services will be fully documented and presented on their own at some point in the near future, but for the next few months you'll be able to find updates, links and testimonials here as I prepare to officially launch the "Artist Services" part of my "Art & Artist Services" tagline.

Stay tuned.

California glass artist Lea de Wit

2009-02-25T12:41:00.000-08:00

As I said before, I'm very pleased with work we did together on the current show "Echoes" at The Frame Maker, and I'm putting up some pictures here today of the feature wall I helped contemporary California glass artist Lea de Wit bring to life in our showroom.

Inspired by the fluidity of Maire Scharpegge's 120" abstract water photograph at the other end of the gallery, we designed a custom wall installation for 14 of Lea's smaller vessels themed around water colors.

Here, Lea is laying out the pieces in front of the location. You can see we built a structural frame into the existing conference room window opening, which we then covered in plywood to support this and future art installations.

Next we made "section view" place holders for the different pieces and created a template for the mounting of pieces once wall was completed.

We mocked up the arrangement with the brown paper templates on fomecore on the floor, and then tacked the fomecore to the wall when we went to install. Lea commissioned clear acrylic shelves to mount into our reengineered wall, and her blown glass plates and bowls are secured with museum wax. We also painted a white panel behind installation to maximize the play of color, reflection and shadow of the pieces in the final installation.

In these last photos you can see interesting details of acrylic shelf installation and the lighting/ reflection/ shadow interplay of the wall.

ECHOES @ The Frame Maker

2009-02-14T17:12:00.000-08:00

Among my other recent activities, I have helped two terrific artists prepare a show of their work at The Frame Maker. I met Lea and Maire at separate times in 2008 and introduced them with the idea of doing a collaborative show where their work would sort of riff off each other like a pair of musicians.

A week after opening the show in a whirlwind after returning from holiday in Cabo San Lucas and living with the installation "Echoes", I have to say I'm very pleased with the work we did inhabiting The Frame Maker showroom with these pieces and their arrangements.

Here is the online version of our printed postcard for the show.

This show couldn't have happened without Pete @ Moebius Color and Eric @ Level One Art Installation not to mention Steve Atlas (owner of The Frame Maker) who helped finance and install a significant lighting upgrade to our showroom for "Echoes".

Good work, everyone!

More Pirate Mural Pics & Details

2009-02-10T02:18:00.000-08:00

Here is a much better photo of the central detail of my backyard pirate mural installation here in San Diego.

The pirate landing party was composed first on the panels covering the roll-up door, and these panels were painted separately in my studio. You can see the panels, attaching hardware, and some awfully fun painting in the next two enlargements.

I was inspired on this project not only by my clients Ron and Mary but also by my friend Helen Ward, whose illustrations for the book "Pirateology" fueled the project and whose design illustrations for "Into The Woods" helped set my high standards.

Pirate Mural Pictures

2009-02-04T06:19:00.000-08:00

I'm jumping back to an older custom mural project that I never fully prepared for portfolio viewing at the request of woodworker Del Cover. The theme is pirates, and this series of pictures shows the beginning outdoor space, a design sketch and a few finished photos, including details of the mural image itself as well as the faux rock and wood grain treatments used as a surround.

The "raw" space for the mural, showing the clients' extensive collection of pirate memorabilia.

The final approved design sketch for pirate mural and surround.

Overview of finished mural and faux painted surround.

Detail of pirate landing party.

Detail of faux painted rock and wood grain surround for pirate mural.

2009-02-01T19:16:00.001-08:00

Steelers baby!!!

Capitals @ Currant

2009-01-11T13:02:00.001-08:00

I just found these pics of me working on the column capitals at Currant.

Its still a mystery to me why they had the artist who painted the currants on the columns (which is a really cool idea for a decorative paint treatment in this context)start before everyone was done with the ceiling.

In these pix I'm trying to repair and clean up an installation butchered by the general contractor on the job; I actually landed a whole new contract just to fix what they did, separate from my original deal to design and fabricate the pieces.

Currant details: column capital recreations

2009-01-09T22:51:00.000-08:00

The capitals on the square columns and pilasters of Currant are scenic recreations of the original capitals surviving in the main lobby.

I laid up these capitals from my favorite water-borne resin product on molds hand carved and designed in my old shop in Sherman Heights. The picture above is a slice of Ramona D'Viola's terrific SDHG shot; below is one I took and posted here last year.

Finally a good picture of Currant on this blog.

2009-01-05T23:34:00.000-08:00

Not just a good picture, a fabulous one. My many thanks to photographer and journalist Ramona D'Viola who took this terrific picture for San Diego Home and Garden AND gave me permission to share with you on this page.

Part of what's great about this shot for me is that it shows all three interior components that I designed & produced over the summer of 2007 for Currant in one gorgeous and compelling photograph. Thanks, Ramona!

In the next post I'll mark up copy to show exactly what I did for designer Diane Roberts on Currant at the Sofia Hotel in downtown San Diego.

(If you've followed any of the Twitter posts I've been playing with since I got my iPhone, you know I've become a huge fan of this place for both food and mood, so if you have the chance, check it out.

Great thank you to start the year

2009-01-04T14:47:00.000-08:00

I promise to get back to the restaurant posts I promised/started last fall, especially as regards Currant, especially now that I've eaten there (finally) twice in the last few weeks with Heather to have a fabulous evening/meal.

Also,I finally connected with photographer Ramona D'Viola, who shot Currant for the San Diego Home & Garden article I wrote about last fall, so more about that soon too.

Anyway, I wanted to post this very kind "thank you" note from Bruce Reznick as my first post of 2009, to remind me of all the reasons why I do things the way I do.

Busy December

2008-12-30T01:28:00.000-08:00

The Frame Maker has kept me so busy since my last post that Christmas blew by and 2009 is the day after tomorrow.

The upside is my wife Heather made a beautiful Christmas holiday for all of us at home. We had beautiful wonderful food on the 24th, 25th and 26th including my favorite german chocolate cake, the first time Heather's ever made it at home. (It was awesome and didn't last 24 hours!)

Anyway, here's some end of the year follow up and detailing before 2009 is underway. First, it was fun to see this picture of my Ocean Abstract piece at the San Diego Coastkeeper Ocean Gala in a recent copy of 944 San Diego.

Photo: Brian Terry from 944.com/san diego.

.

Ocean Abstract #3 for SD Coastkeeper

2008-11-15T13:26:00.000-08:00

Here's a pic of the finished piece in its custom frame at The Frame Maker shop yesterday.

The final layers of varnish, plaster and wax mute the bright colors I started with on the recycled wood lengths (see last post), but still allow them to glow through the more opaque bits of glaze. I'm glad I made enough "raw materials" for more of these so i can work out a few things that occurred to me since its completion earlier this week.

New Ocean Abstract for SD Coastkeeper

2008-11-13T23:06:00.000-08:00

If you've looked at the fine art pages of my online portfolio, you may recall this piece, "Ocean Abstract #1".

Created from plasters, wax and other materials from arsenal as a faux finish artist. I've developed a few other paintings out of this ideas of industrial, textural materials and the endless horizon-line division and interplay between ocean and sky.

One of these pieces was inspired by a fit of shop cleaning and recycling of unused materials at The Frame Maker, San Diego's premier custom framer, where I am now the general manager. Faced with a bin full of old rippings and cutoffs from our custom molding and construction endeavors, I began to consider all the different surfaces, grains and sizes of maple, ash, pine and basswood assembled there, and how differently they would take color, varnish and polish.

The long strips spoke "horizon" to me, and the piece was under way, utilizing only waste materials from The Frame Maker, and leftover paints, varnishes and wax from my shop.

This seemed a logical choice to donate to the annual gala and fundraiser for the San Diego Coastkeeper chapter this weekend, given their mission of removal of manmade debris and repair of manmade damage to our beaches and coasts.

Here are some progress pix of "Ocean Abstract#3".

Trompe L'oeil Chalk Painting: Little Italy Festa 2008

2008-10-13T22:49:00.000-07:00

Here's two views of the finished chalk painting of Saint Domenic I did over the weekend for the "Gesso Italiano" part of the annual Little Italy Festa here in San Diego.

Hunter came down to chalk with me again on Sunday:

Chalk Painting photos from Little Italy Festa

2008-10-13T21:12:00.001-07:00

Johm Hiemstra, Scenic Artist, originally uploaded by photoman1552.

Check out this gorgeous photo of me chalking yesterday-- I am eternally grateful to Robert of Rancho Santa Fe Photography for posting taking the time to get this shot of me laying down the picture frame pattern in chalk from an original pounce pattern.

Little Italy chalk 2008: Saturday pix

2008-10-11T23:15:00.000-07:00

Here's the first pictures from Gesso Italiana 2008, the annual chalk street painting festival, happening this weekend in Little Italy, San Diego.

renderings in the studio

first things

developing background

face of Saint Domenic

working with my assistant, Hunter

end of day Saturday

Raul

Chalk Painting in Little Italy this weekend

2008-10-11T01:13:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy I forgot to post here until now that, yes, I am doing chalk painting again this year in Little Italy as part of the annual Little Italy Festa here in San Diego.

Starting today (sorry for late notice)around ten am, the street painting starts and finishes tomorrow, Sunday, as part of the Festa, which draws over 100,000 people to the neighborhood.

Because we moved since last year's starry night painting (above), I can walk down to paint from my house, which well suits both my urban and green design aesthetics, especially when you consider that Little Italy has been both mine and Heather's favorite neighborhood in San Diego since we moved here in 1999.

Here's a pic of one of my favorite chalk pieces, Michelangelo from 2003:

If you are wondering what happened to my 2006 chalk installation piece, check back in a few weeks for long story and series of pix.

If you're looking for the next posts on Currant or Lucky D's, I'll be back at them next week, along with pix of this weekend.

Currant in San Diego Home and Garden

2008-10-08T02:42:00.000-07:00

When I titled my last post "back to the restaurants" plural, I wasn't just talking about this summer's faux finishing work @ Lucky D's near the ballpark in San Diego's "East Village".

San Diego Home & Garden magazine just ran a feature in their September issue about San Diego's "growing sophistication" in restaurant & nightclub design and one of their stellar examples is Currant, the restaurant in downtown San Diego I worked on last summer-- here is my previous post about Currant from last September.

Here's the article cover and page featuring Currant from the actual magazine.

I will post clearer pictures of actual project in next post.

Back to the restaurants.....

2008-10-01T00:30:00.000-07:00

September was a busy month for me and The Frame Maker, too, with much to report on many fronts.

Not only did I finally finish the trompe l'oeil children's circus mural that has dominated these posts all summer, my new friend Dave Egan finally opened the doors at his new bar Lucky D's, my other faux and trompe l'oeil painting project this summer here in San Diego.

I have a lot of good pictures of the progress of this job I will put up here, and I will start by expanding on my earlier posts on Lucky D's.

First here is an "in-between" shot of the faux painted brick corner.

You can also see some of the steps in the stencil work we used to create the painted wall paper effect, even clearer in the next two shots of the main part of the wall.

These pictures also reveal my secret weapon on this particular project, one of my new students, Coral, who worked on the stencil application of this painted finish. I met Coral and fellow painter Heather Diemand this spring-- Lucky D's was our first training project together.

Here's a shot of these two working on this finish with me this summer.

This last pic and the next one of yours truly were taken by very talented friend Mike Brown, who has documented a few of my projects for me now.

While Mike has also created magnificent digital images of my fine art painting for giclee printing purposes, his real work with the camera reaches far beyond that. Look for Mike's work in the San Diego edition of 944 and on his website at www.mikebrownportfolio.com.

Circus Room Trompe L'oeil

2008-08-28T23:35:00.000-07:00

I'll put up some more shots of all details of this room when I get the real photos taken, but for now here's a shot of completed trompe l'oeil circus panel opposite our circus wagon desk (scroll down for recent posts on this project).

Circus Room Trompe L'oeil Pictures

2008-08-28T01:12:00.000-07:00

I'm going to finish off the children's room circus trompe l'oeil this week at long last. I have been juggling in another set of design and art production work for Lucky D's Bar & Grill, which will have cool pictures of its own coming soon.

The circus room is almost done, I put most of the finishing touches on today.

But first, these are pics from earlier this month, from beginning to about midway through detailing the trompe l'oeil centerpiece of the room. In the entertainment production industry, this would be called the "hero wall".

This painting is directly across from the cabinet of earlier circus room posts. Here is the same point in mural development shot from other end of the room:

More pictures this week before I start on Lucky D updates.

Child's Desk: Circus Theme Room pt.2

2008-08-18T23:27:00.000-07:00

Here is the first of several coming pictures of finished child's desk and cabinet for the children's circus theme room I've been working on this summer.

My new gig at The Frame Maker has kept me burning the candle at all three ends while I finish this room along with work on my other major project of the year, Lucky D's, in San Diego's East Village two blocks from Petco Park. More pix soon....

Child's Desk: Circus Theme Room

2008-08-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, here are the first pictures of the actual desk and bookshelf unit coming to life from the drawings and design featured in the last post.

Del delivered the case in component parts to the jobsite. Paint grade furniture components typically utilize a mix of materials and surfaces for cost effectiveness, which means that thorough prep is just as important on a paint grade job as for a clear or translucent finish job. Fortunately, Chism Brothers handled this job expertly for us-- thank you, Victor!

Top half of desk/bookcase unit after prep and base
by Victor from Chism Brothers Painting.

The parts were snowy clean and fresh when I began working on them to look weathered and worn-- just the way it goes sometimes, I suppose. The first step was to add on a few dimensional pieces of my own.

Three dimensional detail pieces applied to face of bookcase,
monkey sold separately in later post.

After assembling the entire unit in place in the room, I primed and based the add-ons and touched up the handling marks. The next step would be to paint in the ornament fresh and bright.

Laying in the painted ornament base colors.

Once complete, this is also the last step before getting to age it all down and knock it around a little, so it feels like a real old painted circus wagon. In the background of this picture you can see the final aging of the circus tent wall finish; the painted finish of the cabinet will ultimately fit into that same look.

Circus Room Children's Furniture Component

2008-07-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

If you've been following either of the faux painting projects I've been writing about on this blog, or looked at the different blogs I've been writing for The Frame Maker, you know I've got a lot of stuff in motion at the same time right now.

Much like this time last year, when I had several projects going at once including my contributions to Currant, I've been crazy busy but documenting everything as I go for teaching and reference purposes.

Unlike last year, I'm actually getting useful stuff published online and connecting dots with a lot of different and interesting people through my marketing and sales work at The Frame Maker (more on that next week)instead of just working away up in a lift or in the studio all the time.

That said, one of the most interesting people I've been fortunate enough to meet and work with this year is San Diego woodworker Del Cover . Together we designed a children's desk and bookcase unit for the circus room I've been writing about since May, along with Rancho Santa Fe designer Sandra Osborn.

Here's the concept sketch I did for the visual look of the piece after Del, Sandra and I planned out the functions and dimensions in the space.

Here's a detail sketch I made for Del of themed fascia piece and ornament. This top detail is removable so that down the road, the unit can be refinished to fit into a more adult decor.

My inspiration for detailing this piece came from the concept of a circus wagon and a little online research for specifics. My gratitude to the Dover Public Library in Dover, New Hampshire for the having the following picture up on their website, which became our specific design reference for cabinet composition.

So how did it turn out?

Check out the next few posts to find out.

Definitely trompe l'oeil painting!

2008-07-21T22:59:00.000-07:00

Finished up the faux painted brick finish component of the Lucky D's project that I introduced in the previous post.

Since 3 people in the first day commented that they didn't know this wall was "actually" brick, I can claim that "trompe l'oeil painting" definitely wins as the right description for this project (since it means "to fool the eye").

Look again, the brick wall to the right of the seam in the picture is actual brick. (The seam is the corner where the actual brick wall meets the new sheetrock wall.) The brick between the seam on the right and the green "wallpaper" on the left is painted on flat sheetrock.

The "wallpaper" is painted on the same surface. It is the same finish we utilized in the office, with a larger repeat of the pattern adjusted for larger wall. More on wallpaper and more pics in next few posts.

Faux painting or trompe l'oeil painting?

2008-07-15T22:31:00.000-07:00

Here's another place where "faux" and "trompe l'oeil" start to mean the same thing. This component of the design I'm working on right now at Lucky D's, a new bar in San Diego's East Village, needs the original exterior brick wall of an historic building to "wrap" around onto to a new sheetrock wall. The basecoat (two color wet blend) is visible at the bottom of the picture; the "bricks" have only been laid on in one coat of glaze so far. Here's me on the lift detailing the next row. More pictures of larger wall coming this week.

Circus Mural Room Pictures

2008-07-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest pictures from the children's room I'm doing in Pt. Loma right now with the circus theme:

I'll get going on the really good trompe l'oeil part tomorrow, stay tuned for more photos.

New Faux Painting Work

2008-07-01T23:54:00.000-07:00

Here's pix from another faux finish/ decorative painting job I'm working on right now for a restaurant in downtown San Diego.

The design is to reference a traditional almost Victorian style and feel, monogrammed of course with most significant initial (in this case, "D"). You can the pattern more clearly in this picture of the sample:

This finish is done in acrylic glazes and original stencils on fresh sheetrock walls in the restaurant office. We will utilize the same finish in the main bar area -- with a twist, of course. More photos coming as project develops.

Circus mural begins...

2008-06-27T00:36:00.000-07:00

... and I already like it!!

Check out pix from first day of work:

Custom Painting for New Orleans

2008-06-26T01:15:00.000-07:00

This is a small painting I made this spring for the College Students for New Orleans, a group of San Diego State Students who fundraise to support themselves on trips to New Orleans where they volunteer in various venues to assist in the rebuilding of New Orleans.

French Quarter by John Hiemstra 16" x 28" acrylic on board.

The lovely framing was donated by The Frame Maker and the painting was presented June 7 along with 20 or so other works by other artists (including one of my wife Heather's gorgeous sterling peace sign pendants)in a silent auction at a fun evening of jazz and wine atop the Imperial Tower building in Banker's Hill. Heather and I are very proud that together our donations raised $1000 to help get something good get done in New Orleans.

Many thanks to our friend Hoa Quoch, who organized this event, for including us and for doing good works for others in need.

Current Paint & Design Projects, plus other distractions

2008-06-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

My trustworthy compatriots at Chism Brothers Painting started the base painting over at my circus mural project in Point Loma today, and I am excited to move forward on that project.

I've finalized the full size samples.

I also updated the design sketch for "inside the big top" scene "revealed" in trompe l'oeil on central wall of the room after discussion with both the client and the designer.

At the same time, I've also just started on two other hospitality projects. The first is in downtown San Diego with my friend and comrade, Diane Roberts. I'm also doing some design & mural work for the new cafe around the corner from our new house here in Banker's Hill San Diego, so I am blessed with a bountiful early summer after a harsh winter.

I will be putting up new posts and pictures about all of this stuff and more (like the family photos here sometime, though you can always find me on Facebook and see what I post there.

Finally, about the newsletter: in the scramble of moving, business shifting, new baby arriving, for the last year, there hasn't been a newsletter.

My apologies to everyone who signed up and expected something.

I do appreciate your interest and support and will start tying everything together now that I finally know what's coming next, and there's a lot of it, so stay with me as I get caught up and connect my new set of dots.

Still painting: Circus theme mural

2008-05-23T18:16:00.000-07:00

I felt I should add that despite recent evolution of business model and interests and economic conditions, I am still painting, too.

Right now, I'm working on one of the most beautiful homes of my portfolio in Point Loma, creating a trompe l'oeil style circus theme mural for a children's room. The house is a Frank Hope 1930's mediterranean fantasy with many original appointments and a stunning view of San Diego Bay.

This is the fourth part of the house I've contributed to since 2006, and its very rewarding to "return to the scene" of some of my best professional faux painting/ trompe l'oeil painting work.

Here are a couple of the concept sketches for the circus mural, drawn at 3/4" - 1'0" scale.

Mark Jenkins Street Installations

2008-05-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

I like this a lot. discovered randomly 5.15.2008, referred without permission, appropriately enough. Check out Mark Jenkins Street Installations.

HD Expo 2008 in Las Vegas

2008-05-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

So many thoughts in Vegas, perhaps the purest expression of capitalism in this hemisphere, after a full day of digging the Hospitality Design Expo and all of the fascinating products, services and businesses represented here.

Fascinating is relative, of course, but if you are a design/interior/space creation kind of person who also likes to travel for its own sake and its own rewards (as opposed to travel purely for business), the HD Expo is a robust and rewarding experience.

Of course, I am here on business, on behalf of The Frame Maker, a custom picture framing company in San Diego.

Anyone who has known me a long time is probably saying "What the f#$% is he doing still framing pictures?", and I have asked myself the same question, even though the owner of The Frame Maker, Steve Atlas, has been a client of mine since 2005.

Because I first started framing pictures in 1990, I understand Steve's business petty well through, and its been easy to fit in project to project as framer, designer, project manager, and marketing consultant. Steve and I have many shared interests beyond picture framing, and it has been pleasant and satisfying to work with him.

Before I launch into my thoughts on Vegas and capitalism, a little more context: The Frame Maker handles a variety of contract framing projects, meaning large volume, same size or similar of finished, framed artwork. Typically, our clients are art consultants, art dealers, art brokers and art galleries when it comes to these kind of jobs, and everyone of these art professionals that brings in a lot of work to The Frame Maker has had a solid relationship with Steve for over 20 years.

I am here exploring future possibilities for how The Frame Maker addresses these jobs, especially when the numbers suddenly jump from 300-400 to 2000-3000 pieces in a single job, and then drop off again a short while later.

The Frame Maker is just a 10,000 square foot shop, so space is always an issue when the jobs get really big.

But my issue has always been about the hourly guys (and girls) in the shop, who hire on for the crush and then get laid off when it slows down-- having been there myself, I am hell-bent on finding a way to even this out in Steve's business, which has a solid crew of four. Since 2005, with my help, we have knocked out several contract orders totaling thousands of frames, on time with a less-than 1% return rate.

The cliche goes that good help is hard to find, and the manager in me couldn't agree more. Thats why when you have someone good, and someone you've invested any training in that has stuck, they should stop being expendable, and their added productivity channeled into growth of the business.

Now we're getting to the good stuff about Vegas, because one of the best bets in any casino is the odds bet on the craps table, which you can raise as you go. The metaphorical beauty of gambling is that you strip out the product, the people, and the lifestyle (of being in business), leaving the financial transaction almost naked before the existential verification of "win" or denunciation of "lose".

Instead of driving home from the office at the end of a bad week, paycheck in hand but spirits demoralized, you trudge out of the casino with empty pockets and a head full of "should have....." and "if only...." when you lose.

Period.

No Monday morning, no Christmas bonus.

No cage, but no stability either.

Winning, of course, is brilliant, but so is a successful business deal or a series of good sales or a run of good ideas, for that matter.

And since none of those things go on indefinitely, the question could be raised as to how valuable stability is anyway?

The ideal of living or business be to sustain brilliance, or something like it, in building a business or making your fortune on the craps table or making the kind of complete business presentation that the companies here at HD Expo are doing, bringing their whole "show" on the"road" to present to industry peers and potential clients, where one introduction could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) down the road.

Given that some of these booths alone cost hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more-- and I know from my past life working with Scenery West), it seems more than fitting that this show is here in Vegas, where that is still a pretty big bet. (for more specifics about the HD Expo, check out The Frame Maker Design blog at www.theframemaker.com)

HD Expo 2008 in Las Vegas

2008-05-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in the Ventian Grand Canal typing this after attending the "Green Day" section of the Hospitality Design Expo in Las Vegas this weekend. The actual show starts tomorrow, and I will be adding to this after I check out a few things tomorrow. If you'd like to know why I'm here and what "Green Day" is, check out the posts I'm making for The Frame Maker on the Design blog.

Where have I been?

2008-05-08T00:09:00.000-07:00

Yes its been several months since last post and though it looks that way on this particular blog I didn;'t fall off the face of the earth.

In fact I've been busier than ever with kids and the marketing of my art (and others') though I confess to not making much new art.

That said, here are a couple of links to fill you in quick.

My main client of 2008 has been The Frame Maker, the best custom picture framing shop here in San Diego. Some of you may know I've been in (and out) of the framing business for almost 20 years now (ouch!) but this year I've been marketing consultant and web designer with very positive results.

The Frame Maker's site was beyond lost to searchers at the beginning of the year and by April could be found on the first page of Google for a number of working searches like "custom framing San Diego" and "museum quality framing San Diego".

In addition to developing the content and look from scratch (hand coded with just a little help from my PHP expert and ally Brian O'Leary, I'm writing a series of simple blogs that provide a lot of useful content to potential clients looking for our kind of services as well as a lot of useful content to search engines wanting to know if The Frame Maker site is any good to anybody.

Clearly its working, with a number of recent clients with cool custom framing projects informing us that they found us and/or chose to use us because of our presence near the top of Google searches and the info/message on the site.

Next stop: social media for the Frame Maker, which I've been exploring as marketing for my fine art painting. Check out the sweet little slideshow of my work below, courtesy of Art Review, a new site specifically for and about artist with a boat load of fascinating content, if you're into art.

Please visit me on Art Review at http://www.artreview.com/profile/JohnHiemstra and also on Facebook at www.facebook/JohnHiemstra.

I don't do MySpace anymore because I think Rupert Murdoch and his evil henchmen have way too much influence in dumbing down the world, and MySpace's spam problem reflects exactly that. If you don't know Facebook yet, I *highly* recommend it.

Stay tuned, more good stuff coming.

Find more images like this on artreview.com

American Art Festival San Diego

2007-11-24T12:41:00.000-08:00

Its been a long month since last post, much of it preparing for the American Art Festival show we are at right now (I'm writing this courtesy of my new wireless broadband card). Here is a pic of Heather (with Logan in sling) at our booth with my fine art paintings on the walls and Heather's hand forged jewelry displayed in cases att the front.

Thanks to everyone here (so far) for their enthusiasm for these paintings. I showed the first of this series in April at Artwalk in Little Italy and have developed eight new paintings since, six of which are on display in the photo above.

Chalk Video & SDFS Update

2007-10-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

I got another great email last week after this year's chalk painting event in Little Italy.

Hi John, I was at the festival last Sunday with a couple of friends and enjoyed watching you paint. I took pictures that day and later thought I'd create a quick movie as a thank you for my friends who took me. Since this wasn't planned, I didn't get any contact info on any of the artists that day. You are the only artist I know how to contact because of the t-shirt you were wearing for sdfinishingschool.com. You are very talented and I enjoyed your art and your websites very much. Since you are in the video I made, I thought you might enjoy seeing it. I wish you every success and hope to see you and your work again some day. Sincerely, Terry Whitley

Check out Terry's really cool video of us all chalk painting at the 2007 Gesso Italiano in San Diego's Little Italy. Thanks, Terry! I always greatly appreciate documentation of me working and I'm sure all of my chalk street painting fans will appreciate it, too.

On another front, I am disappointed to write that the SDFS 2007-2008 school year has been pushed entirely into the 2008 calendar year, despite the certainty of my last set of posts. I confess to having underestimated how much time I would have open for SDFS after Logan's arrival in September coupled with an unexpected surge in service demand the last two months, all while preparing for my presentation with Heather at next month's American Arts Festival at the San Diego Convention Center. Its the first time we've shown together even though we just celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary last week. Of course I've been also doing my usual October events in Little Italy and here in Sherman Heights at next weekend's Dia de los Muertos. My apologies to everyone waiting for more info and who thought they had a set schedule for workshops. I need more time to organize my materials and finish up details on both the SDFS site and the various videos of this year's projects, not to mention update my portfolio site as well. Please stay tuned to these posts for developments as they happen and a special offer from Heather for your upcoming holiday shopping. As always, thanks for your support!

Starry Night chalk painting in Little Italy

2007-10-14T23:35:00.000-07:00

I had a blast today doing my sixth year of chalk in San Diego's Little Italy for the annual Festa. Thanks to everyone who came out today and shared their thoughts and complements about this painting. Here's the first few photos, I'm going to bed.

Especially thanks to everyone who took pictures of me working for me, I'll be doing a larger presentation using all of your work soon!

Here's a pic of my 2006 piece displayed today:

I will be sure to post when this piece gets installed!

Logan is here! and other events this fall

2007-10-10T23:29:00.000-07:00

The biggest news of all this year is the birth of our daughter Logan Annelise on September 18, 2007. Logan was 20" and 7lbs 10oz when she arrived at 7.58 pm.

My amazing wife Heather labored for two hours as the sun set outside our home and Logan was born by candle light in the water, just after dark under the guidance of our awesome midwives Jamin and LaShel.

Anyone keeping score may remember that Hunter's birthday was two days later, here's a cute picture of us

Oh yeah, work stuff:

I will be finally ready to open registration for the new season at the San Diego Finishing School-- the form should be live this Saturday morning October 13, 2007. The limited spots are available first to SDFS newsletter subscribers, so if interested, click here to sign up for that newsletter and priority registration opportunities in the future.

I will be around Little Italy all weekend to talk about the School and chalk on the street at Beech and India as part of Gesso Italiano and the Precious Festa October 13 and 14, 2007.

I will be doing a Day of the Dead altar in Sherman Heights at the end of the month and will be posting exact details next week.

Heather and i are also doing the American Art Festival at the wonderfully convenient San Diego Convention Center Thanksgiving weekend Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I will have more new paintings from the cloud series I showed at Artwalk in Little Italy in the spring (see earlier post), including a large series of small paintings instead of the other way around.

Heather will have much of her custom jewellery there as well as a selection of her popular peace sign and wishbone pendants, both of which make great gifts!

More details, preview of new paintings, and all that new portfolio stuff coming as promised, as soon as I can.

Chalk time again in Little Italy

2007-10-03T15:23:00.000-07:00

I'm still working on editing all the info from 2007 so far and its already time for the annual chalk street paintng event in Little Italy here in San Diego. If you go back to the beginning of this blog, the first articles are about last year's project as the Featured Artist of 2006 Corso Degli Artisti.

This year I've been finishing that project up and readying it for permanent outdoor install in Little Italy after display at this year's event October 13 and 14, 2007.

Here's the latest snap (I am working on the final lettering next).

The festival has a new name this year, Gesso Italiano, and a new location on Beech Street, and so I'm switching gears somewhat as well. Instead of my usual Italian Renaissance Masters theme, I'm jumping instead to one of my more modern-day heroes, Vincent Van Gogh and a painting that I still admire no matter how many times I see it as a worn out poster or trendy hand bag embellishment.

More on these projects as they develop and the long promised videos all coming soon. Stay tuned.

Pirate Mural Preview

2007-09-15T17:37:00.000-07:00

I've been processing pics and video from many cool projects of 2007 while finishing up materials for the new school year at the San Diego Finishing School. I'm new at this video thing so the next three projects I'm working on are taking more time to edit as I get more involved and experienced with fundamentals.

I just got a nice email about the project I'm closest to finishing, a pirate themed mural framed by some good old fashioned scenic art style rock painting and faux wood grain. This project is special for a few reasons, but one I want to point out here in that it is both focal point (the mural) and backdrop (the faux rock painting) for the client's collection of pirate themed memorabilia.

I'm not satisfied with the video yet, but here's a preview picture from my camera:

Here's the email:

Thanx again for stopping by...It cleaned up with water and sponge... You may quote this as a ref. if you like. Good luck with your new born on the way!

As for testimonial:
John is very knowlegable and talented in his craft. He was very cooperative through out the design stages to the finished work of art. He cares about the quality of his work. We got what we asked for and we recomend John as your artist.

Ron and Mary

Even more cool, here is YouTube post Ron made of the pirate mural developing as I'm actually working. (I will post my mural video here as soon as finished.)Check it out:

Projects in three dimensions

2007-09-11T03:58:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I've been so busy the last few months is a flock of scenic art jobs in three dimensions, utilizing sculpture, texturing, pattern making, mold making and casting.

In contrast to my more usual faux finish and mural/commission paintings jobs,I find these kinds of projects exciting but also exhausting in the details and demanding in the sheer amount of time it takes to follow through all the steps.

That said, the end result is always different, and a little more, than just painting, if only for the extra effort invested.

Here are the first pictures of some of the work I contributed to Currant, the new restaurant by Jonathan Pflueger in the first floor of the Sofia Hotel at 150 West Broadway in downtown San Diego:

I was brought on to the project by designer Diane Roberts and architect Ken Winslow, who also selected artists Marie ___________("currant" treatment on the columns)and Christopher Gay, who created the fabulous main lighting fixture and screens you see to the left in these pictures.

Currant just opened for real over the Labor Day weekend and I am just finishing the last of my contributions to the job (though not because I was running behind schedule.... this time, anyway). I will be posting much more about Currant over the next few weeks, so if you're interested, stay tuned.

Fireplace faux finish: before, after & video

2007-08-19T13:32:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a faux finish is a moderator in designing a room, that is to say, instead of making a plain wall into something "wow!", the faux finish modulates something that is already there and doesn't work (and isn't going to be changed) into something that works beautifully.

Over the last few years of painting murals and creating faux finishes in San Diego, I have encountered this situation often when it comes to the existing fireplace and mantel in a home that is being redesignedand remodelled. It starts to get pricey when you talk about removing existing stone or brickwork, not to mention a major inconvenience in terms of the time it takes to strip an existing firebox and surround of its cladding and redo completely.

Faux finishing in this instance is a typically cheaper and much faster makeover, not to mention that you have more control over what the new fireplace will look like in terms of color, value and contribution to the room. Rather than being bound by what stone you can find (or afford), paints, glazes and application techniques can be easily adjusted to accomplish your design goals.

The example detailed below solved exactly this scenario for a living room remodel in a 1970's era home here in San Diego. We've all seen this style of "rock" cladding, both interior and exterior, on homes from this period and, more tragically, on older homes remodelled during this period.

The clients had repainted the room in fresh bright white and were about to install new soft creamy white carpeting to complete their suite of ocean and beach themed furniture and artwork in soft driftwood greys, cream and shots of rich ocean and sky blue. Clearly the garish yellow gold and harshly dark grout lines of the fireplace, which dominates its end of the room, had to go!

Here's a close-up of the surface I had to start with:

I still don't know if this stuff is actual stone or precast concrete or where they got the snappy yellow color, but the bottom line was getting something to stick to this surface that could shift the colors and flavour into the new decor of the room. Additionally, the clients found me right before the scheduled carpet install, so this had to be a one-day job because of calendar, not just cost.

I used a variety of faux techniques on this surface, which I am pleased to detail here for you with the first video of several that I have been creating about my work this summer in preparation for the new programs at the San Diego Finishing School this fall. Check it out:

Here is a larger still of final product; I'm still waiting on a picture from clients with carpet and finishing touches:

Custom textured and painted finish

2007-08-14T23:23:00.000-07:00

I've just posted a picture of one of my favorite jobs of the year, a textured and painted finish on a unique master bedroom fireplace/mantel, in the faux finishes section of my portfolio. Because the client gave me such an awesome testimonial, I've put it up on my home page, too. Check it out:

This finish was created by embedding leaf forms through a heavily distressed texture coat. After softening and sealing, the etxture coat is filled with tinited plasters and polished to a glassy shine before waxing and highlighting in a soft metallic gold. I polished the final coat of wax with an auto buffer to leave a glistening, other worldly finish.

This close up gives a great idea of how this finish responds to light and time of day.

These pictures were taken by my friend, professional photographer Mike Brown. Check out his work on Flickr.com.

How to paint with a plastic bag, or classic 2D scenic art

2007-07-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I did a "classic" scenic art gig on short notice for the REO Speedwagon set as they began their summer tour at the Del Mar Fair here in San Diego county.

Designer Paul Dexter from Masterworks called me on a Thursday afternoon after finding me online. He was unhappy with the paint treatment on some of the set units for the touring package and asked me if I could bang out some quick changes bewteen load In Saturday morning in Del Mar and the show that evening. So less than forty eight hours later I did a rock & roll break up pattern on a series of step units and platforms, using a wadded up garbage bag dunked in thick black paint and rung out like a mop. By rolling the plastic across fresh white surfaces and then picking it up and dropping it back down in a fresh random shape, I created a slashing leopard print spandex pattern and successfully punched up some very ordinary scenery. Total elapsed time: 3 hours so the stuff could dry in the afternoon sun before soundcheck.

I call this a "classic" scenic gig not only because of short turnaround time and rapid production, but also because we had no rendering, or picture of what the designer wanted. Rather, Paul relied on me to interpret his spoken wishes quickly and effectively and get the job done without hemming, hawing or delay. I'm pleased to say "mission accomplished!" except that my camera batteries were out and I didn't get any pictures to share here. Hopefully Paul will be able to help me out with this soon.

Scenic art: new clarification

2007-06-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

It seems that the term "scenic artist" still presents some confusion to people unfamiliar with the term who are new to my work, so I'm writing a quick clarificiation today.

Many people associate the word "scenic" with the word "landscape", and assume that as a scenic artist, I am primarily or exclusively a landscape painter. While much of my mural work and some of my fine art paintings involve landscapes of one kind or another, and while I enjoy painting landscapes and the landscape components of my differnet projects, this is only one facet of the scenic artist's trade.

Most simply put, a scenic artist works on sets, that is, the scenery created for live theater, dance, television and film production, theme park exhibits and rides, casinos, industrial and trade shows, retail outlets, restaurants and any other situation where walls, foors, ceilings, and furnishings serve, in addition to their obvious functions, an entertainment purpose. (Designers and artisans specializing in this work are often now collectively referred to as the the "themed entertainment" business.)

Specifically, scenic artists typically create the final finishes on surfaces and objects created by other artisans. For instance, a scenic would paint the Tuscan mural in an Italian restarant over a wall prepared by carpenters and plasterers, or a distressed/antique paint job on the restaurant's tables and chairs.

A good scenic artist can make drywall look like wood, plywood look like metal, a new table look old, a flat wall look three dimensional, bring the outdoors inside, make a jungle out of a stucco wall, etc. Also, a good scenic works in three dimensions as well, creating textures, reliefs, sculptures or whatever is required to achieve the intended effect.

In addition to drawing and painting, I am well versed in finish carpentry, furniture contruction, wood turning, basic welding and metal fabrication, gilding, moldmaking and casting using plaster, fiber glass and other composite materials.

A good scenic is also part designer, because our job is usually to realize other people's ideas, and often times to create a new way of building or finishing something to make those ideas "come true". In this light, I think it is extremely important for a good scenic to be well versed in art history, the history of architecture, contemporary design and bulding practices, and especially these days, green and environmentally friendly technologies and alternatives to the methods of the past.

While somewhat complicated, I hope this post simplifies the differences between a "scenic artist" and landscape painter, faux finish artist, muralist, painting contractor and many of the other terms commonly used to describe our work, and also why I proudly continue to describe myself as a scenic artist even though the majority of my work these days falls somewhat outside the themed entertainment community.

3D Scenic Art: Marine Corps Command Museum

2007-06-23T00:39:00.001-07:00

Its been the busiest six weeks of my career since my last post about my show at May's Ray at Night event. In addition to new mural and faux finish projects in a couple of private residences, I've had two new jobs delving into my broader skill set as a true scenic artist.

In the entertainment world (theater, film, exhibits, etc.), scenic artists not only paint, but sculpt, texture and finish constructions in whatever way called for in the overall design. I generally refer to these parts of the job as "3D" skills (as in, working in three dimensions), contrasted with the "2D" (two dimensional) realm of pure painting.

In May, working with local exhibit company Bang! Creative, I created an elaborate 3D texture for a display about tunnel warfare during the Viet Nam war for the Command Museum at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot here in San Diego.

The "tunnels" were built onsite by exhibits specialist Chuck Archuletta and the finished look designed by Chuck and Sean Laflin at Bang! Creative. I carved and textured over 400 square feet of styrofoam sheet in my studio to resemble the clay and sand soil of the Chu Chi province of Viet Nam as it would look in an excavated section.

The foam was then hardcoated and installed in sections onsite over the tunnel structure.

After filling and blending the seams of the foam pieces into the continuous horizontal bands of soil and rock, I painted the entire surface in the rich reds and purple-browns of the Chu Chi soil.

Chuck then added displays of photographs, text and artifacts from Viet Nam to complete the exhibit.

The Command Museum is a fascinating archive of Marine Corps history from its very beginnings up through the current Iraq conflict, and the tunnel display is just one piece of a new exhibit, an entire hall devoted to the history of USMC participation in the Viet Nam war set to open in July 2007.

John Hiemstra, Ray at Night, Saturday May 12, 2007

2007-05-10T01:38:00.000-07:00

Just finished hanging the show with Arie Harrison at Innovative Realty at 3827 30th Street next to Dino's in North Park. Its a bright, modern looking space shared with three other artists.Thanks for staying late, Arie!!

I have 17 paintings hung in the show, including everything at Artwalk except the big one I was working on over the weekend (and is now featured in the new header of my online portfolio www.john-scenic.com thanks (again) to the lovely Sylvia who took the photos.)

Anyway, there are a couple of other cool things hung, including a huge canvas I did in chalk of Van Gogh's "White Roses". If you missed ArtWalk or have never been to Ray at Night, there are several venues in the immediate area featuring art, music, food & drink this Saturday May 12, 2007 from 7pm on. I hope to see you there.

Here is the flyer Arie did up for the show:

New Art Show Open this Saturday May 12, 2007

2007-05-06T23:35:00.000-07:00

I will be showing some of the paintings from ArtWalk plus some other good stuff from the studio at a cute little office/gallery space in North Park. We hang the show this Wednesday and the opening is this Saturday May 12 7-10 pm in conjunction with North Park's monthly Ray at Night event.

Ray at Night features over a dozen local venues all with unique shows of art from photography and painting to sculpture and craft, with music, food, wine and more all revolving around Ray Street at University Avenue in North Park, home to more than a few intersting coffee shops, bars and restaurants.

My work will be shown at Innovative Realty, 3827 30th Street at University, around the corner from Ray Street. I hope to see you there.

Thank you

2007-05-05T22:44:00.000-07:00

Its been a busy week since last weekend's ArtWalk, and even though now I have even more good stuff to write about (without having caught up from before Artwalk, I just want to say one thing: Thank you.

Thanks to eveyone who came out to Little Italy last weekend and checked out my booth, checked out what what I was doing, and specially to those who gave feedback, ideas, comments, and honest reactions. I have been energised this week from your energetic and overwhelmingly positive feedback-- and I am incredibly grateful to you all.

For those who didn't make it this year, and for those who might have wanted a picture but didn't have a camera, below is a picture of me working on one of my new fine art paintings for my agent Tom Pergola:

This picture is courtesy of the lovely Sylvia, my "photographer of the day" on Sunday--thanks, Sylvia!!

First Update of Spring 2007

2007-04-25T08:04:00.000-07:00

Its been a busy winter since my last e-mail update, with several new exciting developments both professional and personal. I have been fortunate to have had some fantastic contracting opportunities creating some unique faux finishes in a few gorgeous homes here in San Diego, with a couple of fun mural projects coming this summer. If you haven't been to my site in a while, check out the new streamlined www.john-scenic.com (launched a few weeks ago) featuring some of this new work as well as regular RSS updates from my blog handpaintedmuralsfauxfinishwalls.blogspot.com. I started the blog in order to write more easily about different aspects of what I'm doing with custom handpainted murals, faux finishes, and my fine and applied art projects as well post pictures of different projects and processes that don't fit anywhere on my site. Its also allowed me to answer questions I've received via e-mail at greater length and in more detail and share both questions and responses with a larger audience. Today I want to invite everyone to this weekend's ArtWalk event in Little Italy, where I will have a booth (#786) for the third year. This year I'll be showing all new fine art paintings I've been developing with my agent, Tom Pergola. Signing with Tom is one of the past winter's events I am really excited about, especially since Tom recently secured my first art publishing contract for the new paintings. I will write about the details later, but here is the most recent version of the first painting in the series that started it all: I will be showing this painting and two others from this series this weekend at ArtWalk, as well as some smaller skyscapes, one really large painting, and the beginnings of a new series of mixed media paintings that have evolved out of some of the more elaborate faux finish projects I have been doing. There is a lot more news on the professional side that will have to wait until later posts (I have to get down to the studio now....), but I do want to share one more important event in our creative development here, which is the confirmed arrrival of our second child, a little girl, due this September 21st (yes, the day after Hunter's birthday). This is the first official announcement now that Heather has cleared the first trimester with flying colors. I have also started a MySpace page, muralssandiego, to write and post pictures of more personal stuff for friends and family (like pics from our recent vacation in Kauai, coming soon). Check it out if you have a chance, and check the blog for further updates about my fine art, prints when they become available, custom mural and faux finish work.

San Diego Finishing School Update

2007-04-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

Today I'm getting ready to start a new series of jobs onsite after some time devoted just to Heather and Hunter and our house. One of the things I love about my business model is that every week is different (unless the job is very large).

Frequent change is good for me on many levels. Today I was able to appreciate a wider perspective on things (one I have to put on hold when doing specific tasks), which let me know that in the face of growing demand for my services, I've spread myself a little thin.

So I've decided, despite a very successful first six months that saw 6 new students study at the School and built two new partnerships with local painting contractors, in fact, due to overwhelming demand for my services, that I will not be accepting any more students until this fall.

There are a few reasons for this.

One is business growth: when I began booking contract mural and faux finish job two months (and more) in advance, it occurred to me that splitting the studio into two functions (both teaching and contracting) might be tough. After doing a couple of refinishing projects in the studio as well, I decided it was almost impossible.

Along the same lines, I have had some exciting developments with my fine art recently, which I hope to announce "officially" by this month's ArtWalk event in San Diego's Little Italy, Booth #786.

The other big thing that happened is that I learned a lot: about what people are really looking for in a learning experience, about what people need to succeed in the business of faux finishing and mural painting, and how I can improve the design of my offerings at the San Diego Finishing School to be able to help people even more effectively

So of course I want to make all these improvments now, and if you've been checking in on the Finishing School web site recently, you'll have noticed I got started on the upgrade and then stalled; there is just too much going on right now. The new ideas for class organization and collaboration services for contractors will have to wait to develop until the summer, as will the planned scheduled workshops in trompe l'oeil drawing and mural painting at the heart of a third local business partnership I look forward to announcing soon as well.

I posted a condensed version of these thoughts on the site today and want to repeat here the most important part of the message: THANK YOU to everyone who made the first six months of the San Diego Finishing School such a success and such an exciting time. (and please stay in touch through this blog for most current updates!)

More Trompe L'oeil

2007-04-08T23:11:00.000-07:00

While flipping through travel pictures this past week in research for more new fine art paintings (which I hope to be ready for ArtWalk at the end of April), I came across a couple of classic examples pertinent to my last entry about the differences between "faux" and "trompe l'oeil" and how they can me mixed.

Note the detailed marble treatment of the painted column ("faux") to match the real marble column on the right. Then notice how the painted light and shadows convince you of the three dimensionality of the column ("trompe l'oeil").

Trompe l'oeil vs. Faux

2007-03-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

I received a couple of inquiries about the Point Loma project I did with Chism Brothers Painting that I described as both "trompe l'oeil" and "faux stone" and what the difference is between trompe l'oeil painting and faux finishing and how one project could be both. So here's a clarification (I hope):

Typically, "faux finish" describes the process of making a surface look like something it really isn't using paint, stain and the like. There are several examples of this in the painted finishessection of my portfolio site www.john-scenic.com, but the most recent and convenient example is in my last post about the Olivenhain project I did with Chism Brothers.

One of the finishes for that project was done on the baseboards and mouldings surrounding the windows and doors in the family room. Using a five step process, I painted these paint-grade white mouldings to look like the honey colored wood used on the fireplace mantel and crown mouldings.

In this picture, the crown moulding at the ceiling is real wood with a honey colored stain. The mouldings around the windows were originally painted white, and I painted them to look like the same wood as the crown. This is a "faux finish": the mouldings are real, but they are painted to look like something (stained hardwood) they really are not.

"Trompe l'oeil" is a French expression that translates as "to fool the eye", and while a faux finish like the one above fools the eye, "trompe l'oeil" is typically reserved for painting that convinces the viewer that something is there that really is not there, like a window or doorway drawn in accurate perspective so that it seems three dimensional. The accuracy of the drawing and the faithfulness of the painting to how the subject matter would look in reality is critical to being "trompe l'oeil" rather than merely decorative painting.

Here is an example of architectural trompe l'oeil from the custom murals section of my site.

The window is "built" like the real windows in the rest of the room, i.e., with the same proportions, same mouldings, etc. but it is drawn and painted on a wall that has no real window. The "view" mimics the real trees, fence, etc. that are outside the house and that you would see if the window was real. And it is drawn in a mechanically accurate perspective, so that it appears to the eye three dimensionally just as it would if it were really there.

Getting back to the Point Loma project then, I use both terms to describe that finish because I used both techniques to create the stone blocks on a blank wall.

Each block was measured and taped off and made to look like stone with paint, i.e., "faux painted". Then highlight and shadows were painted to correlate to how the blocks would look in the light of the room (both natural (daytime) & artificial (at night)) if they were three dimensional, in this case, with a 1/4" bevel on all four sides of each block. This is the "trompe l'oeil" component: look again at the picture and remember that the light fixture is mounted to a wall that is completely flat in reality. The stone blocks you see are rendered entirely in paint, both the stone texture (faux) and the three dimensional block (trompe l'oeil).

Working with Professionals

2007-03-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

The Olivenhain project I just worked on with Chism Brothers Painting wasn't the same kind of collaboration as our Point Loma faux stone project, but I was reminded once again how nice it is to work with fellow professionals who have the same eye and understanding for detail.

Project manager James Becker and his crew prepared the family room where I did a suite of painted faux finishes on the walls and mouldings (as well as a large freestanding cabinet), and I was near ecstatic that they took the time to properly caulk all the gaps between wall and moulding, thoroughly prime and paint so that my finishes came out clean and even from edge to edge.

Its an old saying that a great paint job is 80% preparation, but it is especially true when it comes to faux finish painting. As an experienced licensed painting contractor, I can do all of this prep work myself, and in past jobs I have done most of it so it would be done to my specifications-- even when working with other painting contractors, I've run into hassles where someone else's standards are not up to mine, and what someone else calls "ready" I call "insufficient".

Now if you have never worked with glazed finishes (the basis of most "faux" finishes), you wouldn't have the same need for the same level of preparation. I teach this to all of my beginners at the San Diego Finishing School, because insufficient prep can ruin the most perfect faux finishing technique, especially at the edges (where one surface/finish stops and another begins). The edge is always where a faux finish gives up the power of its illusion if not done right-- I liken it to the follow through of your golf or tennis swing. Imagine how frustrating it is to follow through properly (after years of practice!) only to have your work fall short because of poor preparation that someone else was paid to take care of for you. It has happened to me more than once, which is why for a period of time, I did all my own prep.

But if you have ever investigated hiring a quality faux finish artist, you know we're not cheap, and in terms of business, it is difficult sometimes to explain to a client why they're paying top dollar for what appears to be entry level work. Which brings me back to why I am so happy to have established a professional relationship with Chism Brothers Painting. While they aren't cheap either, they are more cost effective when it comes to preparatory work than I am and they do it as well (or better) than I do because they understand why it is important and necessary to do it right the first time. Which means that our clients get the best value available in San Diego when it comes to truly artistic custom painting and faux finishing, from the very beginning of a job through to the very end.

Trompe l'oeil faux stone

2007-03-11T23:12:00.000-07:00

This week I'm working on a very pretty home in the Olivenhain part of Encinitas. It is my second gig partnering with Chism Brothers Painting, an award winning San Diego custom painting contractor.

We were introduced on the faux finish job in Point Loma that occupied my winter, where we created a fabulous trompe l'oeil stone block effect in the spectacular three story foyer of a historic home looking over San Diego Bay towards downtown. The home is rich in architectural detail, gorgeous wood and metalwork but with vast plain white walls it felt unfinished, despite being built some seventy years ago.

I designed this finish to visually support the rich colors of the furnishings and to bring a sense of architectural grandeur to the walls in support of the original details.

This was also a job for the San Diego Finishing School, as I needed to train two assistants to work on the job with me in order to get done in a reasonable amount of calendar time. Working with Chism Brothers on this job was a thorough success. I was able to teach the technique to Victor and William of the crew led by project manager James Becker and together we were able to complete the project in complete sections around the clients' holiday gatherings. This trompe l'oeil faux finish completely transforms the space in a historically acccurate and respectful way, getting more warmth out of the woodwork, more grace out of the metalwork while pulling the room together from top to bottom.

New Work, New Site, New Season

2007-03-06T22:03:00.000-08:00

Its been a busy winter of production since I last updated this blog, with a couple of excellent faux finish projects recently completed in addition to new painting students at the San Diego Finishing School, new working alliances with some fellow San Diego custom painting contractors-- there's been so much going on I haven't had time to write.

So I'm going to get caught up a little this month while people get interested in this year's Artwalk here in San Diego's Little Italy, usually the beginning of my "season" for meeting new people, showing new work, and seeking out new opportunities.

This year I'm not sure what art to show or how much portfolio of recent custom mural & faux finish painting to display, and I would also like to share some of what's been going on with the first class of students at the San Diego Finishing School, though technically I'm supposed to be showing and selling my fine art only, which leads me to the idea of doing prints (for the first time) of one of my fine art paintings, so as to have more accessible prices for the Artwalk audience....

This at least gives me a good place to start then with the new work. This is one of the new paintngs I'm developing with my agent, Tom Pergola, entitled "Firenze #2". The original is 30" wide x 40" tall, painted in acrylic on canvas. You can see the full size image on the fine art page of my portfolio site, john-scenic.com

(Tom is only representing my fine art; if you are interested in commissioning a custom mural project or set of unique faux finishes, please contact me directly.)

This paintng is part of a series based on the last twenty years of rigorous investigation into light, shade and shadow as the revealers of form, and rooted in my aesthetic homeland of (and travels in) Italy. Its also the first painting I think might make a quality image in reproduction (i.e., giclee, lithograph, etc.)

I would welcome any opinions (pro or con) about making prints of this, or any comments or opinions about printmaking in general. Please e-mail me directly at muralssandiego@john-scenic.com if you have something to contribute; I'm always very grateful for your honest opinions.

San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival

2006-11-18T20:25:00.000-08:00

Last weekend's San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival was a blast for me as "official" festival artist, beginning when we attended the Friday night wine tasting event and found every exhibitor wearing the image I created for the festival on their ID tags. Every attendee carried the image around on the cover of the festival program as well. It was great fun to chat with everyone while catching a pleasant buzz from fantastic wines and enjoying terrfic food.
Ken and Michelle also printed gorgeous posters of the painting they commissioned me to do, and when I arrived on Saturday to set up my display for the outdoor Grand Event, I got a stack to sign and give away. Its very gratifying to see an image of your own creation everywhere around you-- thank you Ken and Michelle for choosing me to create this painting for the festival this year, and thanks to everyone who stopped to chat about the art and take a poster home. Check out the festival "swag":

I showed a few new fine art pieces for the first time in my booth, but spent most of the afternoon chatting with people about my custom art contracting services, from murals and architectural finishes to commissioned paintings like the one I did for the festival. Most people are familiar with the idea of commissioning a portrait, but not as many realize you can commission a landscape or abstract painting as well. I talked with several people about doing paintings of favorite places, working from travel photos, etc. and also customizing colors and textures in my abstracts to coordinate with existing decor, furniture, flooring, etc. The festival was a greatr venue for these discussions, with wine flowing on a gorgeous afternoon by the water's edge. Here's one shot of my booth:

It was a fabulous afternoon, but my favorite moments of the day came as we were taking down the booth at the end:

I'll be posting some more info and pics on the new fine art paintings soon, along with some pics of my current contracting project in a historic home in Point Loma and an update on my first class of students at the San Diego Finishing School.

Photos from Dia de Los Muertos

2006-11-09T13:04:00.000-08:00

Finally I'm posting shots of the Dia de Los Muertos altar I created for the Sherman Heights neighborhood celebration.

The soldier image is taken from a New York Times photograph. I was able to fit approximately 1200 names (out of 2807 on Dia de los Muertos, Nov. 1) of our fallen service members on the wall with the help of Lauren Gibson, who assisted me in cranking out this project in record time.

Its taken me so long to get back to this blog because I have several projects developing simultaneously, including a new faux finish job in a gorgeous old home in Point Loma and the first courses I'm teaching to my first students at the San Diego Finishing School.
More on those devlopments soon, but I also wanted to mention in this post my partcipation this weekend in the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival at Embarcadero Park in downtown San Diego. I am the "official" festival artist who created a custom commission painting for the Festival to use as their marketing image on postcards, posters, tickets, etc:

I'll talk more about this commission process int he next post, but if you want to check out the festival it starts tonight with the first round of tastings, etc. Check out all the activity at worldofwineevents.com.
I will be at the Grand Event on Saturday with a display of new fine art paintings I'm showing for the first time as well as portfolio images of past custom handpainted murals and faux finish projects. I will post pictures next week for everyone to see!

Dia de Los Muertos in Sherman Heights

2006-10-26T13:11:00.000-07:00

This October has been so busy that I didn't expect to have time to participate in my neighborhood's annual "Dia de los Muertos" festival this weekend, October 28 & 29, as I have for the last four years. Sherman Heights, just east of downtown San Diego's Gaslamp District and Petco Park, is unique in that, in addition to a display of traditional family altars (or ofrenda), the neighborhood also holds an outdoor festival of altars created by artists who interpret the "day of the dead" concept in new and different ways. These "public" altars are located at historic homes that are arranged to make a walking tour of the Sherman Heights Historic District. This is the portfolio pic of my altar in 2002, the first year of the festival: At the suggestion of my friend and resident historian Louise Torio, I am going to display elements, photos and information from previous year's Dia de los Muertos at the San Diego Finishing School, my new studio located at 2279 L Street, San Diego, CA 92102. In addition, everyone is invited to tour the San Diego Finishing School studio, open to all visiting Sherman Heights for Dia de Los Muertos from 12-5pm both days. I will actually be working on the chalk painting from Corso Degli Artisti for the Little Italy Association and speaking with folks in attendance on the guided walking tours Louise is leading, starting from the gorgeous Villa Montezuma museum. And of course, after getting involved, I decided I had to do a new ofrenda at my home, properly this year, as last year I was hip deep in the tile work for the Cesar E.Chavez Trolley Station and did only a small impromptu piece; this year I'm back to my usual scale, developing my third ofrenda to the our service men and women fallen in the current Iraqi conflict. This is the first altar in 2004: Side note: anyone who visited last year and saw the tile mosiac murals in progress at my home studio can see the finished art installation beginning at the corner of 25th and Commercial Streets at the southeast corner of Sherman Heights. Its a 3 block walk to the station from the San Diego Finishing School at 2279 L Street. To read my press release about the weekend, click here For more information about Sherman Heights' "Dia de los Muertos" event, please call 619. 233. 8833 or e-mail shermanheights@aol.com.

Drawing Large

2006-10-16T22:38:00.000-07:00

Whether chalk or paint, any large scale image begins with the drawing. And anyone who has studied drawing knows that the process of drawing involves as many lines or marks that you decide you don't want as those you do.

So where do those marks go? Mostly you don't see them on the finished piece, and in both chalk and fresco there isn't the time to make many marks that need corrected or erased altogether. Does that mean that artists doing these kind of projects don't make mistakes or corrections?

Of course not. We all make mistakes, even Michelangelo. But when working very large, or under a tight time restriction, or in front of as crowd, we make our mistakes (and corrections) ahead of time in creating templates for our work.

Michelangelo began each composition with small sketches, where he could find the shapes and forms he wanted to see in the finished work. When the sketches were perfected, they could be enlarged onto full size sheets of paper in outline form called cartoons, usually by assistants. Any errors in the enlargement process could then be corrected, or changes made to the composition, before a single stroke is applied to the actual fresco surface.

When the full scale cartoon was approved by Michelangelo, it was transferred to the fresco surface by a technique

called spolvero, (which) involved perforating the lines of the drawing on the cartoon with thousands of little holes through which a charcoal powder would be sprinkled, or "pounced", by striking the cartoon with the pounce bag and thereby leaving on the plaster an outline that was then reinforced in paint. (Ross King, The Pope's Ceiling)

In addition to the perfection of the drawing this technique offers a host of other benefits for its seemingly extra work. Remember, the wet plaster surface of fresco can only receive paint for so long before it cures, so the spolvero technique gets the artist a perfect drawing in the shortest amount of time, leaving the most time for painting. Also, if a section of plaster went wrong in the mix or cure and had to be removed and done over, the hard work of the drawing wouldn't be lost, because the perforated cartoon could be used over and over again.
For these same reasons, I use the spolvero technique in chalk painting as well as in many of my handpainted custom mural projects. Chalk painting happens over such a short time, I figure the audience doesn't want to see me puzzle over which lines to draw or see me make endless corrections to the outline, they want to see full color and dimension emerge from the pavement like magic. Similarly, I usually have some kind of paying audience when I do a custom mural in a private residence or public/commercial setting, and it builds confidence to see perfectly sized and corrected drawings appear onsite in minutes rather than hours.
In the same way that Michelangelo would want to keep drawing errors out of the fresh plaster surface because they are difficult to correct, a messy drawing in chalk or on a client's newly prepared mural wall makes the painting process more difficult because complete erasure in any of these mediums at large sizes is far harder than it looks and more time consuming than its worth, especially with someone watching you work.
And of course if a chalk painting gets wet or smeared, or if a mural wall is damaged or stained and need resurfaced, the spolvero drawing is ready to be used again anytime.
I have attached a series of pictures from my featured piece at Corso Degli Artisti to illustrate the use of spolvero. In the first picture, I am ready to put down the drawing of the central figure. You'll notice that she is already indicated in white primer contrasting with the grey background:

In fact, I already used this drawing to position her and lay down the white base before the panels were delivered to Little Italy. You can see the chalk smeared around the perimeter in this photo of the cartoon placed over the panels:

You can see the interior outlines from the perforations if you look closely. In the next picture, I've covered the drawing in black chalk and rubbed it through with a rag, making the image almost undecipherable:

After I lift the drawing, shake it out and fold it away, I'm left with a clean, accurate drawing in a matter of minutes while the audience watches:

One of the beauties of this technique is that the lines are so delicate they completely disappear into the developed chalk drawing:

I actually used this technique on each of the figures in this piece, as well as for the text that will finish it off. I also created spolvero cartoons for the small demo piece I did on TV (see earlier entries) and surrounding text. All of these drawings join my library of full size drawings from past projects, which can be reused in both other projects and in the teaching demonstrations I do at the San Diego Finishing School.

More on Chalk and Fresco

2006-10-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

After a couple days recovery and return to the rest of my life, I'm reminded of another relationship between fresco and street painting: the physical challenge of working quickly and effectively with your body in an unusual position. Ross King mentions many of the various afflictions Michelangelo bore in four plus years of painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling, including having later difficulty reading and drawing unless he was leaning back and looking up.
I am used to working on ceilings and other inconveniently located surfaces in my regular work doing custom handpainted murals and unique finishes, but I don't spend that much time on my hands and knees, so a couple of ten hour days street painting makes some impact on the body. That said, I had a great time this past weekend, getting to meet a lot of interesting people while getting some satisfying work done in the great vibe of Little Italy.

As I mentioned to many of you who came by the event, one of the great things about being the featured artist is that I'm not under the gun to completely finish my piece, as it has to come back to the studio for sealing anyway. Here's a picture of the featured piece set up at my studio to be finished over the next couple weeks:

Everyone, especially anyone who didn't make it to Cosrso Degli Artisti last weekend, is welcome to come by the studio to check it out during my open studio hours this month, Wednesday October 11 and Thursday October 12 3-6 pm and Saturday October 14 2-7pm. The address is 2279 L Street, San Diego, CA 92102, just east of Petco Park and the Gaslamp District, click here for map.
I took a lot of progress pictures over the weekend and will share a few of them next time, along with some more from Ross King's "The Pope's Ceiling" about how we construct these images and bring them to life.

Fresco & Chalk Painting

2006-10-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

From Ross King's "The Pope's Ceiling":

"The term fresco, meaning "fresh", comes from the fact that the painter always worked on fresh- that is, wet- plaster. This called for good preparation and precise timing."

Michelangelo's concern was the curing time of the plaster and how much "open" time he had to work a particular section of his design, because after the plaster cured, you couldn't work the image any further than "twelve to twenty-four hours.

Since after this period the plaster no longer absorbed the pigments, it was laid down only in an area that the frescoist could complete in a single day, known as a giornata (day's work).

Street painting or chalk painting is almost always choreographed as a one or two giornata all day festival here in California, where each artist needs to finish his or her work by the end of the event because the streets are washed clean that same night. Street painters, like frescoists, "work against the clock" to complete their designs, though for opposite reasons. The frescoist works in a medium designed for eternity, the street painter works just for today. Either way the creation of the artwork becomes a performance in itself, requiring careful planning, what I call strategy, to not only make it "art" but also to make it on time. Michelangelo pushed back the completion date of the Sistine Chapel several times before he was done, keeping his work covered from below so no one could observe the process. Even Pope Julius II was kept off the scaffolding to keep him from seeing the work until it was "done". Street painters, on the other hand, typically work in front of an audience of festival-goers and passers-by like I did this morning on Ch.7 KNSD's "Streetside" segment with Kimberly King to promote this weekend's Corso Degli Artisti street paintng event combined with the annual Little Italy Festa (sponsored by Precious Cheese for the same five years I've been doing event). The piece I did is the only other finished painting by Michelangelo known to us besides the Sistine Chapel frescos, and was a great warm up for the Sistine Chapel ceiling detail I will be painting in chalk as this year's featured artist at Corso Degli Artisti. Here's the image before today's segment: This is when the segment was done: I used some of the same techniques on this piece that Michalengelo himself used in the Sistine Chapel and I will be using tomorrow and Sunday in Little Italy. This piece will be displayed (and hopefully already finished) where I'll be working as the featured artist making a piece of the Sistine Chapel ceiling in chalk for the Little Italy's permanent outdoor art collection. Next epidode I'll have pictures of the beginining stages and a continued discussion of fresco/chalk technique.

The Holy Family

2006-10-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

The Holy Family painted for his friend Agnolo Doni is the only other finished painting by Michelangelo besides the famous ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. A round painting about 4' in diameter, it foreshadows his preoccupation with the muscular human form and his use of dramtic lighting effects revealing those forms in a sculptural way that made the Sistine Chapel such a definitive turning point in the devlopment of western art. It seemed a natural to use The Holy Family as a demo for this week's TV spots promoting the Little Italy Festa and its Corso degli Artisti street painting festival, because as the featured artist, I will be doing a detail from the Sistine Chapel ceiling as a new permanent piece in Little Italy's outdoor art collection. Sculpture was Michelangelo's preferred medium, and it is an interesting story that he accepted the Sistine Chapel commission from Pope Julius II in the hopes of securing a huge sculpture commission from Julius that he really wanted but never came to fruition. My favorite book about this is "Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling" by Ross King. (See the Amazon link in the sidebar). He gives a terrific, concise description of the method of fresco painting I'll share with you tomorrow, as well as why those methods are relevant today both to street painting with chalk and the custom handpainted murals I produce with modern acrylic paints. To see the development of The Holy Family demo piece I'm doing in chalk, be sure to check out the Fox 6 morning show between 8am and 9am on Thursday October 5 and Little Italy Festa media partner KNSD channel 7 morning shows at 6.30 am and 9am on Friday October 6. To see the Sistine Chapel piece come to life, come to Little Italy on Saturday and Sunday October 7 & 8.

Why street painting?

2006-10-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

As I start working on the pieces for the week's street painting events (I'm actually doing two different Michelangelo pieces, a small sample for the local morning TV spots and the full scale piece during this weekends' Corso Degli Artisti) I've been thinking about the usual questions I get when working on large, mural scale painting in chalk, usually on my hands and knees in the street:
How do you do this?
What happens when you're all done with it?
How do you feel when they wash it all away?
Do they pay you to do this?
How do you make any money doing this?
This year the answers will be a little different because I am the featured artist of the event, which means I'm getting a fee to do a piece on panels (instead of the pavement) that will be mounted and permanently displayed in Little Italy neighborhood when its done.
As this is the first time in five years of participation that I'm being directly paid to chalk in Little Italy, I wouldn't say that "I make money doing chalk." But given that my contracting business revolves around creating custom artwork of many kinds, from custom handpainted wall murals to unique "faux" painted and plaster finishes for interior and exterior surfaces, street painting is a great way to meet people interested in unique custom art and spread the word about my custom art services, which I feel are unique in their blend of design experience, art and architectural history, technical skills and prodcution experience. (See some of my past custom art projects at www.john-scenic.com).
When I develop a custom art project, often the experience that I provide to the the clients and the working dynamics I make possible for the designer(s) are just as significant to the success of the project as the actual artwork. Street painting is similar in that its as much a performance art project as a visual art one, taking place over a set period of time for a live, often interactive audience.
So really, street painting to me is practice: practice drawing & painting on a large scale, practice communicating with people, practice sharing knowledge. I particularly enjoy the practice of working from the masters (like Botticelli or this year's Michelangelo) because there is always more to discover in their work the more you study it, and more to share with people who ask.

My favorite question is the first one ("How do you do this?") because the answers are always new, yet build on the previous ones, in the same way that every mural or faux finish that I do is differnet than everything I've done before and lays the ground for the next one at the same time. (I teach this "method" throughout my mural and faux finish classes at the San Diego Finishing School).

This year my how-tos will be based on the methods Michelangelo himself used. To find out more, check out KUSI morning show from 7.30-9.30am tomorrow October 3, 2006 to see me start a small Michelangelo in chalk, and then check back here tomorrow for a "transcription" of the process. I will continue the piece on Fox 6 Thursday morning and finish on NBC Friday morning before starting the big one on Saturday morning in Little Italy.

Open studio, chalk TV, new trompe l'oeil.

2006-09-27T18:15:00.000-07:00

1. Finishing School open studios & press release: The San Diego Finishing School is now open for business with the site "finalized" and the space set up for work. Starting next week, I will have the studio open to anyone interested in "accelerated artist development" or my work creating custom murals and one-of-a kind painted ("faux") finishes. Currently, I've scheduled: Thursday Oct 5 and Friday Oct 6, from 3-7pm; Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday Oct 10, 11 & 12 from 2-5pm; and Saturday, Oct 14 from 2-7pm. I will have many production samples from past mural and finish jobs, as well as some original paintings displayed throughout, and I'll be working on the panels for the weekend (see below). Everyone is welcome (I'll have wine in the evenings), but if you would like to discuss a specific project or course of study in detail, please let me know ahead of time so I can comfortably accomodate everyone. Currently, I can also schedule individual appointments at other times through October 14, but after that its looking like i'll be booked through to the holidays. Now's your chance. If you aren't familiar with my latest project, please visit the San Diego Finishing School. Click here to check out the press release. 2. Chalk TV & corrections: The open studio times fit around my recently scheduled apearances on local TV to support this years' street painting festival at the annual Festa in Little Italy. (I will be preparing my contribution as this years' featured artist during open studio times.) Appearances are: KUSI (ch 9) morning segment 7.30-9.30am Tuesday October 3 FOX (ch 6)morning segment 7.30-9.30am Thursday October 5 NBC (ch 7) morning sements 6.30 and 9.00am Friday October 6 and I will try to get a clip edited for the website. I will be working up a sample board in chalk to develop over the four segments and help demonstrate what it is we're doing. Also on chalk: I need to correct info in last update about this year's Festa: the new name is Corso Degli Artisti, and the dates are Saturday Oct 7 & Sunday Oct 8. I hope you can come down to see me and over a hundred more talented artists and sample the food, music and fabulous atmosphere of Little Italy. Click here to see my past years' street paintings. 3. New trompe l'oeil mural Here's a picture from the trompe l'oeil project I just completed for my good friend Gloria Paris here in San Diego. All the pix from this trompe l'oeil project (and a couple of other new ones) will be up soon on www.john-scenic.com

Why a blog about murals and faux finishes?

2006-09-25T11:38:00.000-07:00

Recently I've been getting so many questions about the process of creating custom handpainted murals and unique faux finishes, the costs and time involved, my current schedule, etc, especially now that I've launched my new project, the San Diego Finishing School. I'm seeing this blog as a quicker, more interactive response mechanism than email and constant manual site updates. I want to develop accessible and complete answers to the most frequent questions and also be able to respond fully and quickly to individual inquiries. Just so its really clear, the main concept of the school is adapted from the main concept of my business painting custom murals and other customized artwork: instead of "creating the art you want" (the tagline for my online portfolio) the mission of the Finishing School could be "creating the art education you want", if I had written it in the same format. Having studied art in several places & formats in my career, I've been often disappointed when it seems like the the teacher is teaching to the middle of the class, or to a general level of proficiency rather than to excellence and those who want to excel. I have always wanted to attend a school tailored specifically to my goals, and take classes that build on my existing knowledge without the inevitable redundancy of a general lesson plan prepared on a topic rather than prepared for me. In the last couple years I have had a number of requests to teach a seminar on what I do or allow someone to apprentice on one of my jobs. So instead of finding that ideal school to attend, I've established the San Diego Finishing School to share what I've learned, and how I've learned it, in a way each student can best learn it, regardless of past experience and skill level. I work with other contractors wanting to improve their skills, but you don't have to have any artistic experience at all to thrive at the San Diego Finishing School, just the desire to learn, time and money to invest, and the courage to bring your full energies and intention to developing your artistic skills with my guidance. In the same way I customize every painting project to the goals and expressed desires of my client, so I customize every session to the goals of my students. This process of personal artistic growth requires a mental investment (its not always so easy to decide exactly what you want), but its an investment that has repaid me a thousand-fold every time I've made it. My professional goals as contractor and teacher are ultimately one: to facilitate this kind of intensely satisfying and rewarding artistic experience for my clients, and bring them large personal returns on the investments they make in themselves.