The Last Time I Watched the Super Bowl

How painting a mural about the 49'ers made a football fan out of me.

Lynne Rutter painting  a scene from Super Bowl  XIX

In 1994 my friend and colleague Jennifer Ewing and I teamed up to paint an 80 foot long mural depicting the "History of the San Francisco 49'ers" for a Burger King in Mountain View, CA. The restaurant was owned by Len Rohde and his wife, Bev.  Len had been an offensive lineman for the 49ers for 15 seasons (1960-1974) and subsequently had other careers including teaching, coaching football, and owning franchises. During the 75th season of the NFL, and the 49'ers team nearing its 50th anniversary, the Rohdes wanted to decorate their flagship restaurant in a bright football theme.

The site has a long, narrow dining room and four wall panels about 20 wide and only 5 feet tall.  Bev and Len provided us with piles of 49'ers football memorabilia: photos, names, milestones, ephemera;  and we started arranging these things scrap-book style on large pieces of paper to assist the composition framing highlights in the team's history. We painted the mural on  long canvas panels in the studio, then installed them on site.

The narrative we designed started with the early years of the team 1946 - 1960, painted in muted reds and golds, sepia and nostalgic.   In those days the 49'ers played at Kezar Stadium, a lovely, open field at the end of Golden Gate Park.  This panel features Hall of Fame quarterback Y. A. Tittle (#14) about to enjoy a "Whopper" (the signature Burger King sandwich.)

During the painting of these murals,  I learned a tremendous amount about working with the color red. Red jerseys, red pennants, the red and gold uniforms changing from burgundy to glossy candy apple red  to bright fire engine red over the years.

Local favorite, quarterback John Brodie (#12), opens the second panel.  In 1970 the team moved to Candlestick Park.     

Certain Raiders fans in my life took exception to the choice of  Ken Stabler  (also #12) as the sacked quarterback, but  we decided there ought to be some black in the mural. The view on the far right shows the Bay Bridge, seen from Potrero Hill, where I live.

Jennifer working on a vignette from the mid 1970's

Football-fan friends, relatives, and former clients, came out of the woodwork with memorabilia, photographs, and stories of great games past.    People dropped by the studio a lot, and we began to realize that this wasn't just a large-scale, colorful, commercial job, but a testament to an important part of San Francisco history.  Accuracy was crucial - any fan that saw this painting would already know who was left-handed, how many yards so-and-so rushed, what is meant by "The Catch" and what happened on September 5, 1994 that really mattered.  

The Rohdes made frequent visits with reference materials, and Len taught me how to throw a perfect spiral down the long hallway next to the studio. I took to wearing a replica of Joe Montana's jersey while painting, for inspiration.  Jennifer arranged a shrine of memorabilia next to her desk.

Highlights of Forty Niner Football 1980-1995, featuring Joe Montana (#16) and Steve Young (#8)

While we were finishing this painting the 49'ers once again won the playoffs and headed for the Super Bowl. Our clients did not mind waiting until after the game had been played so we could design the right end of this mural to reflect the 49'ers victory in Super Bowl XXIX.
Prior to installing the mural Jennifer and I held a "tailgate party" in the studio as a send-off for the over 80 mythic football heroes portrayed in this mural.

Legend has it that the Forty Niners will once again go to the Super Bowl,  when we are next commissioned to paint about them. 



Congratulations to Jerry Rice,  who was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame today!!


You can enjoy this mural with your lunch at Burger King, 177 East El Camino Real, Mountain View, California.


click to view images larger
Interior design: Brenda Rudd
Site photos:  David Papas
mural © 1995 Jennifer Ewing and Lynne Rutter

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

La dernière Dauphine

portrait of Marie Thérèse Charlotte de Bourbon
gouache on ivory, signed "Chatain" circa 1825

When I went off to school, my father presented me with this painting so I could have something nice in my tiny dorm room. How long I've been attached to this wonky portrait with the bright eyes, its Empire gilt-brass frame of oak and laurel garlands and inexplicable rhinestones. I have moved it with me from one (tiny) bedroom to another for over 30 years.

This miniature was part of a collection assembled by my great-grandmother, who was something of a francophile. Over the last few months I have been cleaning and restoring the collection.

The portrait subject was unknown to me until recently when I opened the frame and discovered her name written on the back: La Dauphine Duchesse D'Angoulême. The painting is signed in the lower right front Chatain. After a bit of research I found that the noted miniaturist Hippolyte-Louis Garnier (best known to San Franciscans for his portrait of Lola Montez) had done a portrait of S.A.R. le Mme. La Dauphine, Duchesse D'Angoulême, around 1825, and made this lithograph after that painting. Chatain almost certainly copied after the same work by Garnier.

Garnier, Hippolyte-Louis (Paris, 1802 - 1855)
La Dauphine, Duchesse D'Angoulême
original lithograph with hand coloring, 1825

Marie-Thérèse Charlotte de France (1778-1851) was the Crown Princess and Duchess of Angoulême. She was the daughter of King Louis XVI and Marie Antionette, sole survivor of her immediate family, and the wife of Louis Antoine of Artois, the Duke of Angoulême. During the time this portrait was created she was in line to become the Queen of France, a title she subsequently held for a mere 20 minutes. She spent most of her adult life in exile in England and Scotland.

You can read more about the life of Marie-Thérèse in the historical novel Madame Royale by Elena Maria Vidal, and on Elena's wonderful blog, Tea at Trianon.

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

Vermillion

Newly painted columns at the restored Sanjūsangen-dō temple, Kyoto.

photo by Lynne Rutter, Kyoto, Japan, March 2009

Vermillion columns, deep charcoal gray roof tiles, white plaster walls, deep malachite green shutters, accents of canary yellow. I love this palette.

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

Ornamental Borders Workshop

Announcing the latest in our series of specialized workshops for professional decorative artists working to enhance and refine their skills


section of a ceiling border by Lynne Rutter

Ornamental Borders: Two Day Intensive Workshop
San Francisco, March 6-7, 2010
instructor: Lynne Rutter

Borders are the most versatile of ornamental embellishments! Even the simplest design can create a wonderful impact on a space. In this class we'll explore multiple techniques used to create some Renaissance-style ornamental borders, with an emphasis on design and transfer methods, as well as painting techniques including stenciling, pouncing, trompe l'oeil, lining, and gilding.
Learn each simple method and how to put them together to create more complicated designs. We'll discuss how to adapt ornament for a variety of different applications in today's interiors, while you create your own set of samples in hands-on practice.

class fee: $695
price includes lunch and all materials, stencils, and a comprehensive set of brushes valued at $150.



location: Lynne Rutter Studio
2325 3rd St. #207, San Francisco, CA

Classes are held from 9 AM to 5:30 PM, with a one hour "study hall" at the end of each day, during which students may remain in the studio to practice at their own pace.

To reserve a space in this workshop, contact Lynne Rutter

• send deposit of $250.
• make checks payable to Lynne Rutter, and send to 2325 Third St #207, San Francisco, CA 94107.
• credit cards accepted for deposit via PayPal, contact Lynne for details.
• Deposits are not refundable after March 1, 2010.
• Remaining fee is due at the start of class.
  

ceiling of the Santa Croce Church, Florence

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

Turquoise- the color of the year

Erling's turquoise straw fedora

Colors seem to go in and out of fashion so much faster than I'd like. Of course I never tire of a color that I love, further, I feel it's really the combination of colors that makes them appealing or trendy (or not) and not just a single hue.

A New Year, and time once again for the experts to announce the "Color of the Year" which for 2010 is to be turquoise: a bright color full of possibilities and which works well to jazz up a variety of palettes. You'd be surprised how well it works with black, oxblood red, and even lavender.



I am pretty wild about these cobalt turquoise pigments available from Enkaustikos and from Sinopia (right).

Golden Artist Colors makes a brilliant cobalt turquoise acrylic paint; I used copious amounts of it in one of my recent projects.

further reading!

• Rather nice discussions of color from Ellen Kennon
  
• Have a look at this charming blog "House of Turquoise" for thousands of lovely images featuring this favorite color.
  
• Interesting "Color Futures" PDF brochure, from AzkoNobel features some new palette idea for 2010.
  
• Sherwin-Williams has an informative color site with a lot of nice examples.

Oil Gilding Workshops

Obsessed with Gilding? So are we!
Expert gilder Melissa Goldman and I have added another weekend of workshops on the art of gilding, designed for professional decorative artists working to enhance their skills.

Traditional Oil Gilding --- 2 day Intensive Hands-on Workshop:
April 24-25, 2010 Saturday and Sunday

instructor: Melissa Goldman Gilding Conservator

Come and join us to learn the principles, properties and history of materials for traditional Oil Gilding!
This class will be specific to architectural gilding and three-dimensional objects such as furniture, frames, and objects d’art. You will learn how to properly prepare any surface to receive pure gold leaf or imitation leaf (Compositon/Dutch metal).
For this workshop, we will practice using both imitation gold and aluminum leaf. How to lay genuine gold and silver leaf, “surface” and “patent”, will also be demonstrated and discussed. Mica powders, hard-waxes, traditional sealants and patination materials and techniques will be demonstrated and applied.

This class is open to all levels of skill. Students with water gilding experience will learn how to add burnished “highlights” to their work.

Architectural moulding samples and carved objects will be provided to work on. Students may also bring in their own objects to review and/or work on.

Please join us for this fun, practical, and highly informative workshop!

class fee including lunch, and all materials: $525.
see below for reservation instructions

Applying aluminum leaf to the entire ceiling creates a brilliant Hollywood Regency look for one of Lynne's clients

Gilding for Decorative Painters
One day Intensive: Monday, April 26, 2010
instructor: Lynne Rutter

In this action-packed day we will practice basic gilding of flat surfaces using various techniques and materials, including traditional oil size and acrylic size. Learn techniques for how to lay metal leaf on walls and ceilings as a spectacular decorative surface; and how (and when!) to add gilt details to painted ornament. We'll discuss appropriate and effective use of different metals including gold, composition gold, aluminum, copper, etc. Preparation, trouble-shooting tips, and finishing will also be covered.

Class fee: $375
includes including lunch, all materials, and gilding brush set valued at $80.
to reserve your space, see below

Classes are held from 9 AM to 5:30 PM, with a one hour "study hall" at the end of each day, during which students may remain in the studio to practice at their own pace.


To reserve a space in these classes, contact Lynne Rutter and send your deposit by April 16.

<------ 22 karat gold leaf and painted sunburst, the focal point of this ornamental cartouche by Lynne Rutter

• deposit for Oil Gilding Workshop: $200
• deposit for Gilding for Decorative Painters: $100
• make checks payable to Lynne Rutter, and send to 2325 Third St #207, San Francisco, CA 94107.
• Reservations are on a first-come first-served basis, so book early to assure your place.
  
• Deposits are not refundable after April 17, 2010
• credit cards accepted for deposit via PayPal, contact Lynne for details.

• Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting
  

Cards of Christmas Present

2003: " The 7th Angel of the Apocalypse" inspired by a 14th century ceiling fresco in southern Italy; the bombing of Iraq, and the capture of Saddam Hussein; and an obsession with ultramarine blue.

Since about 1971 or so, my parents have encouraged my art career (perhaps unwittingly) by asking me to do the artwork for their Christmas cards. I may post some of those early efforts here someday.
In recent years, Kit and Jet have traveled a fair bit, and it has become the tradition for me to design their Christmas card inspired by their most current trip abroad, be that Italy or Angor Wat. I paint them in gouache on paper, print the card, then frame the original artwork as their gift. I am told by my parents these cards are being collected by their friends.

So in case you are not on their mailing list, here are some selections from the last few years.

2008: I spent Thanksgiving weekend with Jet and Kit in Palm Desert, and sketched this view.

2009: A statue of the Madonna, damaged from fighting on D-Day, painted from a photo taken by my mother in Bayeux, France


2004: I made a too-short trip to Africa with my parents in May. This card was painted from my watercolor sketch of a Himba village in the Kaokoland, Namibia.


2005: Gospa od Škrpjela "Our Lady of the Rocks" painted from a photo taken by Kit in Montenegro

2006: from Kit's excellent photo of a Huli elder in Papua New Guinea.
I took some liberties with this portrait, aging the subject to make him look more wise and fierce.

all artwork in this post © Lynne Rutter
click on images to view larger

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

A Feast for the Eyes

If there is anything a decorative artist might love more than beautiful picture books, it's good food.
So, a group of 11 fellow painters and I have assembled a collection of inspiring images from travels and observations with the camera, as well as a few shots of our own work, and mixed them together with our favorite recipes to make a unique little cookbook called A Feast for the Eyes: Memorable Recipes and Images from Decorative Artists.

Our self-published book is a nimble little 7"x7" volume featuring 21 of our favorite recipes, and 51 inspiring color photographs collected from all over the world: from Indiana to China, from Florence, Italy to Orinda, California.
The variety of recipes and the easy preparation of each dish makes this a useful book to keep handy, and the treasury of photographs will give you a thrill even when you are not cooking.


A Feast for the Eyes is currently available through the Blurb.com Bookstore.

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Chrysler Ceiling Mural: a quick look!

Art Deco borders abound in the lobby of the Chrysler Building

During a recent visit to New York City, I had a short morning to take in a couple of sights with my friend Emily, visiting from England. Fortunately if you are fan of architecture, and Art Deco surface ornament in particular, there is plenty to see just walking through Grand Central Terminal and the street outside, on the way to one of my all-time favorites, the Chrysler Building.

At the time of its completion in 1930, the Chrysler was the tallest building in the world, and the lobby ceiling mural by Edward Turnbull, entitled Transport and Human Endeavor was the largest mural in the world, at 78 by 100 feet. Originally titled "Energy, Result, Workmanship and Transportation," an obvious sense of ambition informs the mural on other levels - it's all about achievement, hard work, accomplishment; being the biggest, best, fastest, strongest, first!

Painted on canvas and applied marouflage to the ceiling, this mural has thankfully survived age, and several renovations, including the inexplicable addition of recessed can lights, which were removed during the most recent restoration in 1999.

It is hard to appreciate the ceiling mural because the lobby is rather dark. With its rich red Moroccan marble walls and elaborate inlaid wood elevator doors, there is a lot to see without even looking up. But if you can stay long enough to get used to the cocktail lounge lighting, you will notice so much more.

The focal point in Turnbull's mural: muscles and decorative ka-pow!

What caught my eye this particular visit was all the great decorative elements of the mural. Along with Art Deco borders, there are transitions, and patterns, with a nod to the Vienna Secession.

Look closely and you will see colors, patterns, and pistons! Machines are cool!

Metal leaf is used throughout this painting to great effect. I love this scene, which is painted with pattern, figures, color, and even one figure which is only sketched in. Note the artist's initials "E.T." on the level.

photos by Lynne Rutter, November 2009
click on the images to view larger

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

Water Gilding Workshop

Water gilding is the gorgeous traditional technique of applying gold leaf over a specially prepared surface for a mirror-bright shiny result! I have wanted to learn how to do traditional water gilding for a long time.

So I asked my colleague Melissa Goldman, an accomplished gilder and furniture restoration expert, to teach me and a few of my decorative painter friends. We decided to develop a class for experienced artisans wishing to enhance and refine their skills, hosted at my spacious studio in San Francisco.

In addition to the two day basic Water Gilding Class December 12-13, we will have a one-day workshop on traditional Sgraffito techniques December 14.

Check out the details below, and join us in December for three days of gold heaven!



Water Gilding 2 day Intensive
Saturday-Sunday December 12-13, 2009 9 AM - 5:30 PM

Learn the history and principles of the ancient art of Water Gilding.
Hands-on preparation and application of historic, non-toxic materials such as gesso, bole, rabbit skin glue and gilding liquor.
Students will learn to lay genuine 22kt gold leaf.
Various patination techniques will also be discussed, demonstrated and applied.
We will water gild sample mouldings and create "burnished" and "matte" effects
Students will be able to take their samples home.

Class fee $695

Includes gilding materials: wooden picture frame and/or mouldings, 1 book of 22k gold leaf, cheese cloth, horse-hair cloth, 1lb.whiting, rabbit skin glue, wet dry sand paper, cotton, mixing sticks, Selhamin red and yellow clay, mica powder, shellac, rottenstone and raw and burnt umber earth pigments.
Includes tool kit valued at $120.00 with 2 brushes, a gilder’s tip, pad, agate burnisher, gilder’s knife, mop, vaseline, steel wool, and cotton.

$695! for 2 full days of instruction, tools, materials, and lunch! both days!
(deal-o-rama!)




Sgraffito 1 day workshop
Monday, December 14 , 2009 9 AM - 4 PM

Students will learn the traditional techniques of Sgrafitto; the art of painting a color over burnished gold, followed by using a soft tool to "scratch" designs and lines through the paint, thereby revealing the gold beneath. You can do very detailed ornament this way. Spectacular! A handmade bone tool will be provided to each student.

Class Fee: $275.


Please note: these are not beginner classes! Some previous experience handling metal leaf is helpful in learning this technique.


Deposit of $275 is required to reserve space in the Water Gilding Workshop
Deposit of $100 is required for the Sgraffito Workshop
Send a check or reserve via PayPal
Remaining payment is due the first day of class

Deposits are not refundable after December 1.
Remaining payment will be collected the first day of class.

Contact Lynne Rutter with questions, or to reserve space in these classes.


Melissa Goldman with some shining examples of her work


All images in this post ©Melissa Goldman.

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

blue and ivory

I was talking with one of my fellow painters about what to do when you are stumped. I said "try some blue." I seem to remember one of my mentors telling me that it was one of the rules of good design, that there needs to be a bit of blue in every well dressed room. This advice has never failed me!
Think about it, does your great grandmother's flow blue platter ever look bad anywhere?

Likewise when I was asked to add a bit of ornament and color to an antique ivory-colored corner hutch, for a Provinçal-style room designed by Claudia Juestal of Adeeni Design, I turned to blue. How perfect for a room with lots of red and yellow!

The enhancement of this piece started with a loosely painted wedgewood-blue scroll. On the cabinet doors, scenes from a favorite toile de jouy pattern are a nod to the French country tradition.

Another blue and ivory piece I painted recently is this large folding screen, which was custom built for the Vintage Laundry room I designed in the San Francisco Decorator Showcase.

The screen is painted with some neoclassical motifs and lighthearted singerie scenes, with monkeys sewing and doing laundry. This restrained hint of color added just right amount of the blue finesse to dress up the room.

Click on images to view larger


Okay but what about other colors? Have a look in the gallery on my website, to see some more colorful painted furniture.


All work in this post ©Lynne Rutter
screen photos by David Papas

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

Overlooked Ornament in the Salette Borgia

Detail of a ceiling in the Borgia Apartments, Vatican

Visitors to the Vatican Museums have enough to take in without looking at all the painted borders and ornament that encrust nearly every square foot of the place. However, on my last visit, that is precisely what I was doing!

After bidding my companions not to wait for me, and after further hours of careful ceiling-gazing, I was still stopped in my tracks by two small chambers of the Salette Borgia, whose early Renaissance ornamentation is noticeably different in style than the majority of the palace. Ironically these rooms are the entrance to what is now the Collection of Modern Religious Art, which many visitors nearly run through on their way to the Sistine Chapel.

<---- in the Salette Borgia: elegantly painted in jewel tones, and blissfully empty of visitors.

These and other parts of the Borgia Apartments were decorated with wonderful frescoes and ornament including some stylish grottesche, and fresco murals, painted in the 15th century by renown artist Pinturicchio and his sizable atelier of assistants.

painted wall drapery with the Papal coat of arms of Alexander VI

This entire suite of rooms in the Apostolic Palace was abandoned in 1503, after the death of Pope Alexander VI, because of their association with the disgraced Borgia family. Shuttered and largely disused for nearly two centuries, they escaped redecoration by later popes.

worn tile floors: evidence of hundreds of thousands of visitors passing through.

A wall paneled with stenciled patterns, and a trompe l'oeil window.
Above it, a fresco by Pinturicchio depicting the Annunciation.

In 1891 the rooms and the artwork in them were restored under Pope Leo XIII and opened to the public. Now they seem to be treated as a mere passageway between the more famous parts of the museum... except by those of us who stop to look up.

<--- Another detail of the ceiling- note the jewel tone color scheme and the grotesque ornament




Click on any image to view larger




photos in this post by Lynne Rutter, Vatican City, 2008

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painiting

Hartono! Batik Workshop and Exhibition

The Language of Cloth and Lynne Rutter Studio are thrilled to be hosting Javanese batik artist Hartono, visiting the U.S. for the first time, for a workshop on traditional Javanese batik technique, as well as a trunk show and sale of one-of-a-kind batik textiles.

Hartono is a talented young artist of the newest generation of batik-makers from Solo, Central Java, a center for batik-making for over 150 years. Hartono’s designs incorporate Japanese and European motifs which he blends with traditional Javanese patterns.

Saturday, October 24 from 9am - 5pm
Hands-on batik workshop
* 6 to 8 pm Reception for the Artist

Sunday October 25th from 10am to 6pm
Exhibition and Trunk Sale with batik demonstrations

at Lynne Rutter Studio
2325 3rd St. #207, San Francisco, CA

The Saturday workshop will be an intensive one-day hands-on introduction to the basic techniques of Javanese batik making. Participants will complete their own batik creation on silk, with instruction from Hartono from start to finish.
The class is limited to 8 participants and the fee including all materials is $100.

Contact Daniel at The Language of Cloth to reserve your place: daniel@thelanguageofcloth.com
or call 415-613-9693

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

The Steampunk Aquarium Mural

Giant octopus in a rusting iron aquarium

I recently completed a fabulous project on a tiny detached garage in Oakland, California. My client is an avid scuba diver who loves all things Victoriana, and has a special attraction for octopi. So I devised a plan for a Jules Verne-inspired aquarium.

before: a little detached garage building

I designed the mural to incorporate the entire structure: the garage door became the glass "tank" and the building its "case."

The finished mural with many surprising details

In retro- steampunk fashion, trompe l'oeil rusting iron bolts and cast-iron brackets hold the aquarium tank together in a Victorian-style oak woodgrained case. The mural is completed with three portholes at the top and protected with several coats of UV varnish.


all images in this post ©Lynne Rutter

click on images to view larger

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

Restoring a tapestry mural

My studio recently completed the restoration of an antique tapestry mural.

This is one of a pair of very nice ten foot tall panels that have hung in the lobby of a Spanish Revival apartment building in Pacific Heights since it was built in 1910. The murals are based on a 17th century Gobelins tapestry designs, and are printed on linen using the newfangled technique of silkscreen printing (invented in 1907) combined with the far more traditional printing technique of stenciling.

a major rip at the base of the mural

One of the panels suffered some major damage: a large rip at the base, followed by a six foot long tear straight up the center. Some areas of the material were missing, and the surface was laden with nearly 100 years of accumulated dust, smoke, and dirt.
To restore this mural, we needed to clean and stabilize the entire piece, repair the damage, and recreate the lost areas.
We started by removing it from its frame, and giving it a gentle cleaning front and back.

During cleaning, much of the more subtle detail emerged.

To stabilize the mural, we lightly stitched the major rips closed, then backed the entire piece with a new piece of linen. The perimeter of the panel was then sewn by hand onto the backing for added strength.

My associate Angela is a skilled conservation technician who has worked for many years restoring art for museums and collectors. We met during a large restoration project in 1993 and she has assisted me on numerous jobs since then.

Angela securing the mural to its new backing

Tears, rips and areas of fabric fatigue were painstakingly stitched to the backing, to prevent the rips from spreading, and to fill in for missing material.

Thousands of tiny stitches fill in the ripped area.

Once the sewing was finished we re-stretched the mural back onto its stretcher bars, which we had also reinforced.

I mixed up eleven different colors of paint to match the tapestry's palette, which I then lightly daubed over the stitches to help them blend in to the surrounding areas.

In some places the image was missing and had to be recreated. While not entirely flawless, the tapestry looks wonderful and its repaired sections are hardly noticeable.





The restored tapestry (left)

Click on any image to view larger

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

Cloud painting workshop!

A warm cloudscape, painted for the Westin St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco

It's been a while since I taught a class, so I am very excited about my upcoming workshop on painted cloud ceilings, November 6 - 7, 2009 at Creative Evolution Studios in Connecticut.

Cloudscapes can be painted as beautiful soaring ceilings on their own, or as the base for grand murals. We’ll explore various aspects of composing cloudscapes of different shapes and sizes to suit the proportions of the ceiling, as well as using different color palettes and other techniques for tailoring the mural to the room.

rotunda dome cloudscape, painted for the Cypress Lawn Funeral Home, Colma, CA. approx 380 square feet

This two day intensive workshop will be help in Durham, Connecticut, at Creative Evolution Studios.

Day 1
- Cloud ceilings: demo and slide show
- Practice technique using a pre-mixed palette
- Basic compositional matters for rectangular and "tray" ceilings
- Creating palettes for different colors and "moods" of skies.
- Students will complete two different cloudscape panels.

Day 2
- Advance cloud composition, designing for domes and round ceilings
- Matching colors of cloudscapes to work with the interior design of the room
- Designing clouds to use with figures or as part of more involved ceiling murals
- Marouflage techniques for adding figures or birds into a ceiling

The Nine Muses, cloud ceiling mural with marouflage figures,
painted for the David Allen Co., Raleigh, NC photo: Jim Sink

Two-Day Cloud Painting Workshop
who: Lynne Rutter
when: November 6-7, 2009
9 am - 5 pm
where: Creative Evolution Studios
16 Main Street, Durham, CT
(860) 334-5504
how: sign up here!



All images in this post are work painted by Lynne Rutter ©Lynne Rutter
click on image to view larger

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

Exterior Color: Noe Valley Victorian

Beautiful Victorian details celebrated with six colors and gold leaf!

This Victorian in San Francisco's Noe Valley could not help being a bit cute. The Stick-Eastlake Cottage had been painted about 15 years ago using the pink colors from the magnificent hortensia blooming in its front entry.

before: a pink and green scheme for the cutest house on the street!

When it came time to repaint, the owners asked me to design something a bit more grown-up.

Choosing a Color: I ask my clients to drive around town and photograph houses of similar style whose paint schemes appealed to them. Every one they chose was green! So we started with green. The color scheme I devised for this house uses six colors, all from from Benjamin Moore's Historic Color range, with 23 karat gold leaf on the buttons and pediment ornaments.

Managing contrast: This palette is as much about contrast as it is about color. One technique being employed here is the use of what I call a "secondary trim" color, in this case HC-96 "richmond gray" which is about 30% darker in value than the "high trim" color (HC -32 "standish white") and is used to support features like brackets and window columns, and to create a break between the main body color of the house and the more vibrant accent colors of the window sashes and insets.

Know when to say when: The custom garage door was simplified from three colors to one, and painted the same as the body color, so as not to compete for attention from the main part of the facade. The front door, which had been whimsically painted with four different colors, now sports a more European look in a solid glossy teal with polished hardware and gold leaf details, leading the eye right to the entrance.

After: the Victorian Cottage as stately home

click on any image to view larger

Expert Painting by San Francisco Local Color Painting
Color Consulting by Lynne Rutter 415-282-8820

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

The long lost sketchbook of Jeanne Magnin

In true ornamentalist fashion, Jeanne Magnin collected borders and motifs from her travels, and documented them in beautifully drawn and composed pages.

Egyptian border, from Jeanne Magnin's Documente de Style 1916 - 1917

Tara Bradford, the creative force behind one of my favorite blogs, Paris Parfait, found a little plain brown paper bundle at a brocante, which turned out to be a sketchbook full of gorgeous designs of Egyptian, Roman, and Greek styles, collected in 1916-1917 by the French painter, collector, and art critic Jeanne Magnin.

Egyptian ornament, from Jeanne Magnin's Documente de Style 1916 - 1917

Tara was generous enough to photograph each page of her amazing find and post them to her blog, at very high resolution. With her permission I have re-posted some of them here.

Roman-style rinceau and bucrane borders, sketches by Jeanne Magnin

In true ornamentalist fashion, Magnin collected borders and motifs from her travels, and documented them in beautifully drawn and composed pages.

Greek ornament: a page of palmettes

Each page is like traveling to another time and place. Greek motifs, Jeanne Magnin's Documente de Style 1916 - 1917

Magnin was the author of Le paysage français, published in 1928 and Un cabinet d'amateur parisien en 1922. You can learn more about Jeanne Magnin by visiting Le Musee Magnin in Dijon, France.
All photos in this post by Tara Bradford- click on images to view larger.

Follow the links below for more inspiration from Documente de Style 1916 - 1917
Egyptian designs
Roman designs
Greek designs

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

simple design = big change!

sketch for silhouette mural: run spot run!

I recently completed a deceptively simple silhouette mural, for a veterinary ophthalmology practice in San Francisco. This mural is designed for a bumpy, angled, and very long hallway wall.
For an assignment like this the two most important things are a good drawing, and the right color.The wall "before" was stark white, in an uneven 36 foot long sloping hallway. Work in progress: Just painting the wall blue had a tremendous impact on this space.

bulldog and horse see eye to eye!

The client asked that the design feature a variety of animals, emphasize the importance of sight, as well as show interaction between the animals and their human companions.
Here are some more details:

kathy explaining derivatives to her hound.

the great butterfly hunt!

Both the reception area and the hall now have a nice view!

You can see this mural in person at the office of Veterinary Vision in San Francisco.

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Exterior Color: Contrast and Simplicity

10th Avenue Edwardian with its elegant new paint job

When less is more.... Once in a great while I find myself needing to use less color to reach the goal. For this circa 1915 stucco Edwardian house in San Francisco, the homeowners asked me to help create a more sophisticated, period look.
The previous paint job called out every detail in a mauve and white palette, with accents of forest green and dark rose. This gave the facade a somewhat whimsical, more Victorian appearance, which somehow de-emphasized the architecture by separating each element with a deep color; many features seemed to float unsupported.

10th Ave Edwardian, before and after

Houses of this era were originally far simpler, often covered in wood shingles, or with unpainted, natural stucco. To create an appearance more in keeping with the home's true period style, I recommended we give it back some of its architectural stability by simplifying the scheme to emphasize the form of the house, and started with a color similar to the stucco material itself.

Using a limited palette and strong contrast, my scheme features charcoal green stucco, with dark ivory woodwork. All of the structural woodwork is painted the same color: brackets and beams are now connected and supporting the roof! Roof tiles that had been painted red were replaced with natural brown tile, to relate better with the dark foundation brick. A touch of a warm light green in the eaves reflects some light behind the beams.

This house now has an impressive presence from the street; the architecture is doing all the talking.




Color Consulting from Lynne Rutter 415.282.8820

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Chinoiserie, Italian Style

Sala Cinese, Palazzo Moroni, Bergamo

Chinoiserie is still one of my favorite styles of decoration. All the rage in Europe in the late 17th and 18th centuries, it endures as a classic style of "theme" room, a fantastic mix of exotic Asian motifs and European techniques and sensibilities. One of the most charming examples I have ever seen is this room in the Palazzo Moroni, in Bergamo.
The ceiling appears to be a colorful pink tent, with a lace "cap" at the top, the signs of the zodiac at its center.
Excellent landscape murals surround the "frieze" level of this room. Note the perspective in the paintings, which are all viewed from below.

Detail of the ceiling: I just adore that lace edging, and the border of little pavilions.
These fantasy buildings remind me of San Francisco's Chinatown, whose architecture was designed in 1906, to reflect the western impression of ancient Chinese buildings. Obviously not a new thing.

I visited the Palazzo Moroni during the International Decorative Painting Salon which was held in Bergamo earlier this year. Our gracious host for this event was Lucretia Moroni, a scion of the Moroni family, and herself a world-renown decorative artist. As you can imagine the group of painters visiting this palazzo were very appreciative of its historic murals and terribly grateful to be allowed to take pictures.



photos by Lynne Rutter, April 2009
click on images to view larger

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

Re-thinking Batik: The Language of Cloth

Now touring the US is a wonderful show called "A Lady Found a Culture in its Cloth: Barack Obama’s Mother and Indonesian Batiks" featuring some fine examples from the extensive batik textile collection of Ann Dunham. The show opens June 18 in San Francisco at the California College of the Arts and runs through June 21.

What a way to whet my appetite for pattern, as my friend Dan is just back from Indonesia and will be having a trunk show June 26-28 with all his latest textile wonders!

Through his business The Language of Cloth, Daniel brings together different styles and materials to create new batik designs. Hand-woven silks from Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand; jacquard silk from Korea, and flax-silk from Indonesia are decorated with elements from Japanese kimono patterns, Ainu motifs, European embroidery patterns, as well as traditional Javanese batik motifs. The show will also include reproductions of antique batik cloths from collectors, some reinterpreted in new colors, others reproduced exactly.

"Carbon Emissions" trucks spewing smokey mega mendung

My personal favorites are the contemporary twists added to the traditional batik patterns, like my prized Cluster Bomb sarung. A new piece this year, "Carbon Emissions" is a mega mendung "cloud" motif, with the addition of trucks and cars, in smokey colors.

I am also quite smitten with some of theses Ainu-inspired scarves:

Ainu pattern interpreted as batik ornament: batik tulis on hand-woven Thai silk, with design adapted from applique patterns on Ainu attush robes from Hokkaido, Japan

The Language of Cloth Summer Trunk Show takes place
June 26, 27, 28 11 to 6pm
650-B Guerrero St., San Francisco
415.613.9693 www.languageofcloth.com

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Miniature Portraits

Recently I have been spending some time cleaning and getting to know the miniature portraits collected by my great-grandmother. Many in her collection were acquired from a sale at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and most of those were portraits of Marie Antionette.

I will be posting the entire collection in sections here as I have time.

Some of this first group of paintings were set aside for my niece in honor of her 21st birthday.

Portrait of Marie Antionette in a green dress, goauche on ivory, signed “Chatain.” Backed with white kid leather and set in a simple ornamental oval frame with watch-crystal type pillowed/beveled glass. Very likely painted as a copy of another painting, as a souvenir.

Oval portrait of a dark-haired lady dressed in the Italian fashion, watercolor on ivory, unsigned.

Portrait of Marie Antionette with a rose, signed "A.T." gouache on ivory backed with white kid leather, in gilt wood frame.

Portrait of Marie Antionette in an apricot dress, unsigned watercolor on ivory. This painting is much smaller and older than its elaborate frame, which dates from the late 1870's.

Very fine and pretty portrait of a young girl, gouache on bone ivory, signed "Gericault 1812" backed with white kid leather, in its original simple brass frame.

By far my favorite of this group, "Lady Smitson" as this is labeled on the back, is wearing the fashion of the 1780's and painted with a rare amount of texture, recalling the English School style. Signed "Gram" and dated "80" on reverse, and set into an elaborate frame.

Lady Smitson is so realistically painted that I am sure this is not a portrait of Marie Antionette, but of lady dressed in her style.

Click any image to view at larger size.

Want to know more about miniatures?
Read here about my obsession with Miniature Eye Portraits

Elle Shushan in Philedelphia has a fine business collecting and selling miniatures.

Check out this huge on line gallery of a number of collections on this extremely informative site: "Artists and Ancestors"

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

The Silver Kitchen

This gorgeous custom kitchen was recently featured in the Spring 2009 issue of Better Homes and Gardens "Beautiful Kitchens." This room features a silver and ecru color palette and is dressed with rock crystal and stainless steel. I painted a faux limestone finish on the walls and used venetian lime plaster to create the irregular stone-like finish on the range hood.

These warm stone finishes compliment the silver pearlescent cabinets and white calcutta marble counter. Silver is a recurring theme color in this Piedmont, Ca. home, where I contributed color design and well as many other decorative finishes.













photo courtesy Camber Construction, where you can see more of my work in this house.

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Geek Color

Can these new iPhone applications save me lugging around giant paint color fan decks? We shall see!


This week the internet is all abuzz with news of a new iPhone application ben® Color Capture™ - developed for "ben" by Benjamin Moore, that allows you to snap a picture of whatever inspiring beauty you see, then match moments in that photo to the more than 3,300 colors in Benjamin Moore’s range. The application will be available for free download beginning June 1.

Fans of SuperPaint will rejoice that Sherwin-Williams has its own interactive iPhone app called ColorSnap™ which is available for free download now. It identifies colors in your images, and suggests palette colors surrounding them, and will even give you the RGB code of each color for web use.

For you advanced color players there are even more options - beyond paint!

Color Expert, from Code Line Communications, uses an interactive color wheel displays color sets in various schemes including monochromatic, complementary, analogous, split complementary and triadic, which update as you drag a finger across it. You can also view a variety of color palettes, find hex codes for RGB values, look up HTML named colors, Web-safe palettes, etc., and then email your designer friends with your inspired finds! This one is $9.99

Palettes, by Ricky Maddy, can analyze a photo, web URL, or any other image, and offer a breakdown of its colors into a pleasing looking palette. $9.99 for this app, or free for the "lite" version.

For me these applications are not quite sensitive or accurate enough for picking colors but they are interesting for working out palette decisions. Looks like I will be eye-matching my paint for a while to come.

Images courtesy Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Exterior Color: using paint to emphasize architecture

Here is another case study on the placement of paint color, and how to get the most from your Victorian facade.
This Laguna Street Queen Anne Victorian had some common issues- raised to add a garage, the house looked so high off the ground that the nice parts of the facade were hard to find; you could see the garage door but not the front entrance.
My clients asked me to give this Grand San Francisco Lady the refined look she deserves. I started by talking to them about not just the colors, but where we put them, and the difference between emphasizing details vs emphasizing architecture.
You see, it isn't just the colors you choose, but where you put them that makes all the difference!

Laguna St. Queen Anne before and after: color design by Lynne Rutter. Click on image to view larger

In the previous paint job, every detail was painted differently. Despite a complicated scheme of 5 colors, the house looked a bit flat; the placement of colors emphasized individual features, but without honoring the role they play in the architecture.
Columns in the entablature as well as in the entry arch, were painted dusty rose while the areas behind them were much lighter, so rather than stand out, these columns receded into the background, and everything above them, crown moulding and brackets, "floated" unsupported. Fancy rosettes had dark "holes" of burgundy, and the lovely egg and dart feature in the crown moulding had been painted out like a dark ribbon, slicing an otherwise substantial crown into three skinny horizontal stripes.

Laguna St. entablature before and after: click on image to view larger

So, in addition to a new palette, we needed a new "map" of where to put the colors to best bring out the shape of the architecture, and help this house stand up straight!

The first thing I did was de-emphasize the garage, creating a "foundation" for the house by painting everything below the entry the same deep neutral gray, a color very similar to the stone covered foundations of neighboring houses.
"Structural trim" that is, everything supportive, or the "bones" of the house - columns, cornices, crowns, capitols, etc. - are painted a warm ivory, so that they are connected and supported by each other. Carved elements like the egg and dart in the crown, now show up as sculptural relief, with shadows and highlights adding detail. From there, shades of green, bamboo, gold, and ivory, are arranged to focus attention on the beauty of the structure. In all, seven colors of paint are in use here, with some choice decorative features highlighted in 23 karat gold leaf.

All colors on this project were specified using C2 paints.


Bring out the best in your historic building, whether it be inside or outside. Color Consultation 415-282-8820

Entablature is in the glossary!

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Showcase Season

My Powder Room in the 2002 San Francisco Decorator Showcase

Showcase season is upon us again, with exciting spaces being presented by veteran and new designers alike. I have painted in over 25 showcases houses around the Bay Area, and transformed three rooms for the San Francisco Decorator Showcase as a designer. This year, due to my travel schedule, I could not participate in the exhilarating rush of reshaping a room in a scant three months.

I missed it, actually, because it is during this time I get my one chance each year to spend time under the same roof with so many talented colleagues in the business, and there is an atmosphere of camaraderie when a large number of the area's best decorative painters are all working on the same house. Oh of course there can also be a little drama, but for the most part everyone is trying to do their best work and finish before the press arrive, sometimes working late into the night, often running to the next room to beg a roll of tape or ask advice.

Showcases are especially great for ideas. Working without a "client" the designers get a chance to show off what they are interested in, what inspires them, and their best new finds.
A few years ago a nice book came out called "Decorator Showcase Houses" which compiled the best 250 rooms of 50 different showcase houses from all over the country. I recently flipped through this idea-packed book looking for a room I remembered from a previous showcase, and was really struck by how fresh and interesting even 7 year old projects look. This is because these designs are not the "trends" so much as each designer's personal vision, which, if anything, will set the trends for the future.
(look for my work on pages 137, 176, and 186!)


See the 2009 San Francisco Decorator Showcase , through May 25 at 2830 Pacific Avenue.

Exterior Color: Two Stucco Edwardians

I love working with color, particularly with period homes. Here are a couple of recent transformations which illustrate my motto: do what will make the architecture look its best! Often this involves a bit more than paint colors to get the desired result.

28th Avenue Edwardian, San Francisco: color by Lynne Rutter, painted by Local Color

The previous owner of this home in Sea Cliff had "simplified" this house and painted it yellow in an attempt to make it look "Tuscan." My clients wanted to see the house restored to its original style, and look more like a formal City house. Black aluminum windows were replaced with insulated windows using the original Edwardian profile. San Francisco Local Color Painting stripped the paint off the foundation walls revealing the original red bricks, and then painted the entire house using all C2 paints.

The color scheme is a nod to the arts and crafts era. I started with a de-saturated green/grey accented with oxblood-red windows, and a linen-color trim that appears white in contrast to the body color. A fourth color; a warm, lighter green; is added under the eaves and on the stucco cross pieces to show off the more horizontal features and give these details a lift in the areas where it might otherwise get heavy. The result is a calm, formal facade with elegant detail.

Here is another Edwardian-era stucco and wood house with some similar issues:

Cole Street Edwardian: color design by Lynne Rutter

My clients on Cole Street disliked the whimsical "storybook" look of the house and wished to downplay the decorative half-timbered beams. They wanted the house to be simple and modern. However, previous attempts at "modernizing" this facade- by removing some features and adding others- only served to make it look more convoluted, and the old pink and purple paint job was borderline silly. I convinced the homeowners to restore the facade as much as possible, to give it back its architectural stability, which would go a long way towards creating a more refined entrance to their home. Iron railings were removed, missing brackets replaced, the garage door replaced with something simple.

The color design involves six colors of paint, some of which were custom mixed. The body above the main horizontal beam is painted a warm, tan color, with just a bit of contrast between the stucco and wood. A jazzy cobalt blue front door integrates the blue stained glass surrounding it, and calls attention to the entrance. The base and garage door are painted solid with Benjamin Moore "Hampshire Grey." This deeper color gives the massive facade a grounded base, and makes for a more stately appearance from the sidewalk. Now the overall look of this house is grand, true to its period style, without being cute or nostalgic.

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Arabesque

An interior detail of the new Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi, photo by Imran Akram

My fascination with Arabesque ornament... may have begun in Prague many years ago, when I first saw the Španělské Synagogy "Spanish Synagogue", built in 1868 in the Moorish Revival style. Inside it is completely covered in geometric Arabesque designs. Seeing the architectural ornamentation on such a scale made me want to run home and encrust every surface I could find with pattern.

A plate from "Art arabe : mosquée de Qaouâm el-Dyn: détails du tombeau" (1877)


It's not just that it's pretty, but it resonates with the math geek in me. The division of space, the arrangement of color, the... fractals!

Arabesque art developed in regions where Islam has been dominant; such as Morocco, Moorish Spain, India, Turkey, and the Arab states; and embodies Muslim precepts in its themes, with the focus on patterns rather than on figures. The depiction of the human form is forbidden, considered too close to idolatry, and so the art tends to be decorative and ornamental in style - geometric, floral, calligraphy.
The style has inspired and influenced non-Islamic ornament and architecture in Europe and elsewhere, particularly in the 19th century with the trend towards in Orientalism in design, and romantic "revival" styles of architecture.

The incredible new Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi is a project that I have been watching with interest. It was completed in March, 2008, and I am especially gleeful over the work of British designer Kevin Dean included in the massive courtyard's inlaid marble floors (above) and archways, a fantastic modern take on the floral elements of this style. More gorgeous pictures of this splendid new mosque can be found on the photography site of Imran Akram.

"Islam Ornament" (mosaic ceilings) photographed in Pakistan by Judith Barath

Mosaics can also play a prominent role in the ornamentation of buildings. In addition to the overall appearance of a colorful pattern, the play of light over the surface of thousands of tiles adds another level to the message of this art: this all fits together in an infinite pattern... do you see now, how you too are part of a larger pattern, how you belong?


How envious I am of my friend and colleague Tania Seabock, for this incredible ceiling she created for a client in the arabesque style, which includes tens of thousands of gold faux mosaic tiles!

I have a room set aside for my own spin on arabesque ornament, and look forward to sharing my inspiration and progress.

Some internet resources:

New York Public Library Digital Gallery

Islamic Art photo set by Flickr member Sir Cam

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia

IAAO: Islamic Arts and Architecture





Some recommended books on Arabesque ornament:

Arabesques. Decorative Art in Morocco

The Majesty of Mughal Decoration: The Art and Architecture of Islamic India

The Art of the Islamic Tile

Ipek: The Crescent & the Rose: Imperial Ottoman Silks and Velvets

Iznik: The Artistry of Ottoman Ceramics

Islamic Art in Detail

Arabic Art in Color (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Brush Shopping in Kyoto

Cabinet full of watercolor and calligraphy brushes, porcelain palettes, at Saiundo Fujimoto.

While in Kyoto, I paid a visit to the shop of Saiundo Fujimoto, very well known for hand-made watercolors, and "special materials for Japanese-style painting." This is a lovely little shop, crammed with special brushes, paper, and supplies: glue (nikawa), chalk (gohun), and powdered mineral pigments (iwa-enogu), everything for Nihon-ga and other forms of Japanese painting.

Ms Fujimoto added my card to the guest artist book. The drawers behinds her are full of bamboo handle brushes, and trays of watercolors.

Here is my lovely new set of handmade watercolors, each in its own little ceramic tray. What a gorgeous palette, just as it is.

A display of sumi-e paint brushes at Kyukyodo.

Just up the street from Saiundo Fujimoto is a wonderous store called Kyukyodo. They specialize in calligraphy papers, brushes, incense, and lovely gifts. Trust me it took all of my will not to buy one of these giant sumi brushes.

Next time you are in Kyoto,
Visit Saiundo Fujimoto: Anekoji Fuyacho Higashi, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto.
here is a little map to help you find it (click to enlarge.)

Kyukyodo is only a short block away here (map)

My thanks to Diane Durston and her wonderful guide book Old Kyoto: The Updated Guide to Traditional Shops, Restaurants, and Inns

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Waltzing through Life

Erling Wold composed these two waltzes for me. This performance of the SFCCO, conducted by the Maestro himself, at Old First in San Francisco.
*sniff* I think I'll keep him.

The latest FAD in Tokyo

No, I am not talking about Gothic-Lolita fashion!

While in Tokyo last week, I had the opportunity to pay a visit to fellow decorative painter Yaeko Kurimata, of F.A.D. Faux Arts Design.

I met Yaeko-san at the SALI convention in San Francisco, and again in Chicago last summer where she demonstrated her talent and expertise at the International Decorative Painting Salon. In addition to being a fantastic artist, she is also a teacher and successful entrepreneur with a thriving business in commercial interiors.

When she heard I was coming to Tokyo, Yaeko-san invited me to participate as guest speaker at a "World of Decorative Paint Introduction" she was giving to major design firm. What an honor to be included as the "out of town expert!" A dull employee lounge was transformed with FAD's many gorgeous samples and stencils on the walls and windows, creating a beautiful environment for this presentation.
Yeako-san gave a thorough talk about the possibilities and advantages of faux painting. I especially liked that she had 5 unique samples all made with the same stencil, to demonstrate how different a pattern can look depending on the materials or colors used.
I asked the designers about their color preferences (they are liking earth colors, and pastels) and we briefly discussed how color trends and choices vary with light and location.
I was then treated to an amazing sushi lunch, and we spent the rest of the day talking shop and taking care of business at the large and busy FAD studios. What a wonderful day with an inspiring, energetic, and accomplished woman!



Later in the week, Erling and I made the trek out to the aptly named Tokyo Big Sight and the huge GEISAI event, to see some of the work of Akira Ishiguro, a member of the FAD team of artisans. His latest paintings take the "ideal beauties" painted by Ingres to another level, by substituting anime Manga girls with big eyes and elongated figures, for the (equally impossible) goddess-like figures of the early 19th century European ideal. They were beautifully painted and, he sold all of them. Congratulations, Akira-san!






Yaeko Kurimata will be demonstrating as a participant at SALON this year in Bergamo, Italy in April;, and teaching some of her special techniques at this year's IDAL Convention in Memphis TN in July.

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Totoro Fan

One of my favorite anime films is the 1988 Hayao Miyazaki classic Tonari no Totoro. I spied this "20th Anniversary Commemorate Fan" in a shop in Tokyo and was overcome with glee. If you look closely, you can see in its design soot sprites, and even the cutout shapes of little totoros in the spokes of the fan.

Lost in Translation

I am accompanying the maestro to Japan, where he will be attending the Tokyo Performing Arts Market this week.
I just love this brochure designed to present Erling's work to the Japanese. "Libertine" is here translated as "freethinker."

Joy Prevails Over Apathy

Every year some team of experts decides what the "color of the year" is going to be, and for 2009, it's a certain color of yellow. I had already been working on this panel of chinoiserie using a bright Imperial Yellow field when I heard this "news."
Interesting how these "fashions" in wallpaper, trends in paint, styles and colors, come and go, and come back again. The myth here is that anything is ever really all that new.

My painting above has a trompe l'oeil illusion, of brightly colored chinoiserie paper being torn up from its predecessor, the monochromatic neoclassical stencil pattern. Don't get me wrong, I love neoclassical design, but these days I feel a need for color. I find myself attracted not to just one color, but the combination of them, and I come back to this bright yellow every so often because it makes me happy. I felt, every moment I worked on this painting, basking in yellow, the sensation of pure joy!

So to me this painting is about the triumph of joy. The joy of color dominating the innocuous, monochromatic style; the joy of vision over nostalgia; of radiating rather than retreating.

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Arts and Crafts Flowering Frieze

Some months ago I completed work in this unique project for the Malibu home of the illustrious Ms. Barbra Streisand. The design of the library was inspired by the "Ultimate Bungalows" built by notable Arts and Crafts architects, Greene and Greene.
I was commissioned to paint a frieze for the new library, recreated after the famous Thorsen House in Berkeley, California.

original Thorsen House rose branch frieze, painted by Charles Greene

The rose branches were originally painted by Charles Greene in 1910, on sailcloth, in a somewhat oriental style. These have, over time, discolored from smoke and aging varnish.

Ms. Streisand endeavored to include historically accurate detail in creating this room, and the library has much of the same style of joinery that make up the signature Greene and Greene woodwork. I custom-painted the Thorsen-style frieze using the same style and materials as the original,, and meticulously trimmed the the canvas panels to fit into these mouldings. Some additional painting was done on site to finesse the composition.

The addition of the floral border in the room strikes just the right balance. It's hard to describe, but the effect is stunning.

* While I was allowed to photograph my work, I was asked not to show pictures of this spectacular room itself, as it is to be featured exclusively in Architectural Digest sometime soon.

The Thorsen House is owned and maintained by the fraternity Sigma Phi, whose members take the best possible care of their home and give spontaneous tours whenever asked. They are trying to raise the estimated $10 million needed to restore this landmark.
Please visit their website and make a donation!

frieze is in the glossary!

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Victorian Woodgraining

This splendid Victorian front door set with leaded glass windows
was finished with a simplified faux bois effect by Lynne Rutter.

In San Francisco Victorians, it's fairly common that the dark woodwork so commonly found in their interiors is actually redwood, that has been painted with a faux bois finish to look like something richer and more expensive. This style of woodgraining usually emulated mahogany, and was often nothing more than a layer of deep tinted glaze pulled over a painted surface, then varnished. This simplified faux bois technique is a remarkably effective treatment.
In older American cities like New York or Chicago the faux bois used in Victorian homes was a complicated process resulting in a realistic imitation of wood, but in boomtown San Francisco, there were few skilled painters available in the rapidly growing city, so most made do with a very simple graining job; and then it was off to the next house!

One of my specialties as a restoration painter is rehabilitating and recreating these period finishes, which requires careful matching of color and mimicking the style of the original painter.

Missing ceiling mouldings were recreated (left) then glazed to match the original finish (right)

In this Mission District Italiante mansion, removal of a 20th century dropped ceiling in the dining room revealed the original mouldings, damaged but well worth saving! Missing areas were re-created by a carpenter, and then we painted them with a woodgrain effect to match the original finish. We also created a typical faux bois finish for the baseboards, doors, and casings, to restore the room's period look.

My associate Melka Myers is creating a burl effect in the insets of some reproduction doors.

The parlor in this house had an interesting paneled ceiling that had been painted over many times. I designed a color palette and finishes for this room to create a more Victorian period atmosphere. As you can see the finish starts with a bright, apricot colored base.

My good friend Tania Seabock was available to help us, and worked some magic to create this finish using only one layer of glaze, to skillfully fashion a convincing faux bois finish.

The effect is stunning, so much so that it's hard to believe anyone would want to paint it white. It's worth the extra effort to finish these surfaces as they were intended; you get so much more out of the architecture.


click on any image to view larger

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

The Fabulous Peacock Parlor of Mr. Clem Labine

During our recent visit to New York, the maestro and I made a trip out to Brooklyn, to visit Mr. Clem Labine at his historic Park Slope brownstone.

Portrait of the Publisher as a Young Aesthete.

Mr. Labine is a longtime Friend of Artistic License, and the notorious founder and former editor and publisher of the Old House Journal, Traditional Building, and Period Homes magazines, all of which sprang from his passion for preserving and improving older buildings, starting with his own spectacular manse. It's no surprise that his home boasts outstanding original as well as restored features and is decorated in high Victoriana, complete with koi pond and neoclassical statues.

My favorite room is the Peacock Parlor, the formal sitting room on the grand main floor of the house, with its massive original casings and doors, high ceilings, coral walls, and crammed with art and statues. On the day we visited, an indoor bocce court (non-regulation) had been constructed on the spacious peacock feather patterned carpet. But the real story for The Ornamentalist here is the custom-painted frieze.

Unusually large at about two and a half feet high, the Peacock Frieze was designed and painted ~ 30 years ago by Austrian-trained Helmut Bucherl, ably assisted by Howard ("Howie the Grainer") Zucker, the son of a German-born decorative painter. Both artisans spent most of their professional life working for Rambusch Painting Studios of New York. The inspiration for the design was found in an old Dover Edition and embellished by Mr. Bucherl, whose Austrian roots show in the Secessionist-style elements. The ceiling has a very cool anthemion detail of stylized peacock feathers. These borders were painted using a combination of stencils, pounces, hand-shading, and gold leaf, and the entire room, including the ceiling, has been glazed. While the color are rather intense, in the intimate light of this room, they look perfectly balanced.

The peacock motif was adapted to create a four by eight foot ceiling rosette with a fabulous antler-branch spiral border and gold leaf accents which glitter above the electrified gas chandelier.
As you can see a gorgeous decorative painting job endures, like great architecture.

click on any image to view larger
anthemion is in the glossary!

Visit Clem Labine's new blog, The Preservationist

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Faux Volcanic Glass Mosaic Tiles (by popular demand!)

I had a commission earlier in the year to paint some hand-made tiles to look inlaid with volcanic glass mosaic, for an Arts and Crafts period effect. So many people asked me how this was done I recorded the process for this "How-To" post!

The plain tiles are hand-formed, with a rough burgundy colored glaze on top. The surface is uneven and not very smooth, which makes it difficult to paint. So to get paint to stick to this surface, I decided to etch it. For the initial sample, the "stencil" is just masking tape.
After cutting the design out, I applied Etch-All creme over the design, waited 15 minutes, then rinsed thoroughly with water. NB- nasty stuff- wear gloves and a respirator.After rinsing I checked to see if the etching had any effect... and it sure did! In fact, I think it would be cool to etch designs into tiles like this and not paint them! Before painting, I let this dry overnight.
For the painting, I started with a layer of gesso tinted to a peach color with burnt sienna acrylic. Over that I added some layers of copper and gold metallic acrylic and a selection of interference paints. To keep the surface smooth I use a soft blending brush to soften out the paint.
It's hard to get good coverage with such transparent colors, so many layers are needed and you have to be careful not to let brushstrokes build up.

To get that volcanic glass look, I apply the interference colors in a bit of rainbow- each "piece" has several colors changing from red to green to oxide, etc
When the sample was finished, as you can see if you look very closely, the tape bled a bit during the etching process. So in the next round I used a solvent-resistant masking film from an auto-body shop.

Because the tiles are dark it was a challenge to transfer the design onto a clear film. I ended up transferring the design to the tile with bright red saral paper, then sticking the mask on them, and then cutting the design out. This whole process took only about 1 hour.

Following the steps above, the tiles were then etched.

As the tiles are not flat and the glaze has a lot of bubbles and texture, getting the masking film to stick perfectly was not possible. But on a smooth flat machine made tile, this would work like a dream. One bonus about this film- once the water dries off it, it can be re-adhered.

Now for the fun part!layers of interference and metallic acrylics blended together and softened with a black sable fitch. Important: let the paint cure hard (4 - 12 hours) and bray the edges down to break the acrylic paint film, before lifting the masking film.

A finished set of tiles: pretty, water-resistant, and unique.
This process can also be used for tiles that are already installed.

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Cover story!

December 2008 - check out this month's California Homes magazine, whose cover story puts the spotlight our favorite new San Francisco designer, Claudia Juestel of Adeeni Design.




The cover article features a historically significant Victorian country house in Diablo, California, to which I have previously contributed a fair amount of work, including restoring and recreating the faux bois for the baseboards and doors in the main parlors and entry, the entry floor, and the ornamental overdoor panels in the living room.

Above: The panels over the windows and doors in the Living Room were painted by Lynne Rutter.
Artistic License associate Brian Kovac created a weathered wood finish for the beams in the newly built wine cellar.

I am so happy to see this work used in Claudia's fresh design, which is an eclectic, worldly mix, and celebration of the Victorian house's original features.


<-- The entry with its painted checkerboard floor and restored faux bois baseboards and casings.



Here is proof positive that you can live,
really live in a period home, with all its "dark" wood and traditional proportions, and still have a joyful, current interior.






click on images to view larger.
images 1 and 2 © California Homes Magazine
image 3 photo by Bernardo Grijalva

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Language of Cloth Textile Show and Sale

Attention fashionistas and fans of color and fabric!
It's time once again for the Language of Cloth textile sale.

Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays
from November 28 - December 21, 2008
650-B Guerrero St San Francisco
415-431-7761

the blue: hand woven silk with a kotak-kotak pattern (grid) The issen-issen (batik filler patterns) fill in areas defined by the textured pattern of the weave. This design was inspired by an antique obi.

Every year my good friend Daniel Gundlach brings home a fabulous collection of handmade textiles of cotton and silk from Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. Unusual one of a kind pieces blending traditional techniques with modern eclectic style. Wonderful for wearing, for decor, and with many affordable choices for gifts.

the orange:
hand -drawn batik tulis on Korean silk jacquard, in a flowing basket weave. The batik follows the pattern of the weave in some areas.

Each piece is unique, hand-made using a very labor intensive process, and the sale of this work supports the artists, and the communities in which they were created.

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Library Children's Room Mural completed!

We recently finished the murals for the Children's Room in the Burlingame Public Library. I am so thrilled with the transformation of this space!

<----- Sierra as Melisande


The mural was commissioned by the Burlingame Library Foundation to commemorate the centennial celebration of the Library.


My goal was to create a mural that appears original to the room, as though it's always been there. Indeed it is hard to imagine the room without the paintings.





The North "main" mural wall is about 37 feet wide and the ceilings are 20 feet high. The first 5 feet of the walls are filled with bookcases, so all of the murals had to be painted with perspective from below eye-level.

There is a large metal grate and a little maintenance door in this wall, that I worked into the design, so the architecture became part of the composition of the mural.







I had a lot of fun re-imagining this little door area, to make it an entrance to a castle, or possibly, another world.

Faraway Castles, approx. 9 feet wide

We added images all around the room, so the room becomes a story, its walls the pages of a favorite book.
Details like tiny faeries, mice, and California poppies become more noticeable when you get up close.

(click on images to view larger)

See my previous post for work in progress images, and more about this project

Centennial Mural story in San Mateo Times

Bay Area Art Quake review by Phil Gravitt!

My thanks to:
Burlingame Library Foundation for their support and this amazing commission
the Burlingame Librarians for all their research and enthusiasm
interior design consultant Michelle Nelson
and to the ladies of my atelier: Sierra Helvey and Melka Myers.

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Library Children's Room Mural- in progress

The Russian Prince brings home the Firebird

This week we will be finishing a large children's room mural for the Burlingame Public Library,

Commissioned by the Burlingame Library Foundation, the murals draw inspiration from the "Golden Age of Illustration" the great storybooks of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, like Maxfield Parrish, N.C. Wyeth, Arthur Rackham.

The Burlingame Library is a charming Spanish Revival style building was designed by architect E. L. Norberg and completed in 1931.
The children's room is a large space with soaring, beamed ceilings, textured plaster walls, and a lot of odd angles. This presented a challenge as there is no one focal point to the room, nor is there a large uninterrupted space where one might normally site a mural.
So I designed a mural that uses the architecture, grates, doors, and arches, as part of the composition.

Work in progress on the north wall.

We painted the murals on canvas in my studio, then glued to the walls and in some areas, additional painting is done on site.

The Foreign Prince, being cut out prior to installation.

installing the castle mural in an arch

The Burlingame Library will "unveil" this mural during their Centennial celebration on Sunday, October 19, 2008.

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Eye Candy

A splendid miniature eye portrait from the Victoria and Albert Museum, with a diamond teardrop,
via Tail of the Yak.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, miniature eye portraits were all the rage. This was after the late 17th century rage for miniature portraits of any kind. They were painted most often using watercolor or gouache, on a substrate of ivory or parchment, then set into a bit of jewelry- a pin or pendant.
In Victorian times the eye portrait was often a piece of mourning jewelry, but the origin of this form was as a token of love.
I have had, for rather a long time, an obsession with eyes, used as symbols in my paintings. So naturally I am fascinated with these tiny symbolic paintings, the lover's eyes.

an assortment of lover's eyes

According to The Art of Mourning:
"Eye portraits are considered to have their genesis in the late 18th Century when the Prince of Wales (to become George IV) wanted to exchange a token of love with the Catholic widow (of Edward Weld who died 3 months into the marriage) Maria Fitzherbert. The court denounced the romance as unacceptable, though a court miniaturist developed the idea of painting the eye and the surrounding facial region as a way of keeping anonymity. The pair were married on December 15, 1785, but this was considered invalid by the Royal Marriages Act because it had not been approved by George III, but Fitzherbert’s Catholic persuasion would have tainted any chance of approval. Maria’s eye portrait was worn by George under his lapel in a locket as a memento of her love. This was the catalyst that began the popularity of lover’s eyes. From its inception, the very nature of wearing the eye is a personal one and a statement of love by the wearer. Not having marks of identification, the wearer and the piece are intrinsically linked, rather than a jewellery [sic] item which can exist without the necessity of the wearer."

I'd love to be a collector of these, or to have just one of them. Perhaps I will paint one of or for my own best beloved, as a follow-up to the maxi-eye portraits I painted a few years ago, of Erling Wold, myself, and our "adopted" daughter Laura Bohn.

Eye portraits of Erling Wold, eye self-portrait, and Laura Bohn, at 250% of life size, oil on masonite.




Treasuring the Gaze more about Georgian lover's eye portraits.
Check out the highly enviable collection of Cathy Gordon
Oeil en miniature by Le Divan Fumoir Bohémien
Even more lover's eyes from Candice Hern

The Art of Mourning more about Victorian mourning jewelry
Interested in collecting? Antiques Roadshow has some tips.

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Chinoiserie at Decorati

My Chinoiserie Powder Room is now featured in the "Style Guide" of Decorati's new on-line magazine Decorati Access.

Decorati is a site for locating furnishings for interior décor, and includes a large number of designer profiles, making it a great resource for both designers and design clients.

2002 San Francisco Decorator Showcase. photo by David Papas

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Landhaus Hexagonal Ceiling

Recently I completed a project three or more years in the making,
for a wonderful home in Orinda, California, built in the style of a Landhaus-Villa, combining elements from both Italian and Austrian hunting lodges, and detailed with custom polychromed ironwork, and antique handmade bricks stamped with the Hapsburg crest.

I was commissioned to design an ornamental painted ceiling for this fantastic hexagonal shaped room!

detail of the handpainted Florentine ceiling border

My patrons love the painted ornament of renaissance Italy as much as I do, so for its principal border element I took inspiration from the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence. This element was adapted and hand-painted 66 times - a natural, hexagonal number, also a sphenic number, adding a mathematical stability and a sense of architectural symmetry to a slightly off-center space.

before- an unfinished white ceiling in a room with great bones...

after - 22karat gold leaf stars and accents glitter in a colorful ceiling from which grows a polychrome iron chandelier.

more details to follow.... stay tuned

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Summertime

Labor Day - a day arbitrarily marked as the end of Summer. White pants? what about them? For San Francisco, it's the beginning of the Indian Summer, the warm big sister to those halcyon days to which we look forward all the year.

Balinese temple umbrella on my patio,
photo by Lynne Rutter, August 2008

Agua Vista Park

Agua Vista park, with a view of San Francisco's last remaining drydock (near Pier 20) and the recently closed steelworks.

A few months ago, I started taking my lunch down the street to a nice little spot called Agua Vista Park, which is just north of my studio in the old American Can warehouse. I've all but ignored this public park for years and years, and often when I walked by its gates were locked.

Agua Vista is just next to the Ramp restaurant, which seems to have added a few tables out back to take advantage of this space.
In the last years, the city's Green Trust has made an effort to clean up some of the bay access and "parks" along the central waterfront. [This included painting over some fine graffiti art in Warm Water Cove a few blocks to the south.]

Places like these are wonderful finds, and in my neighborhood it tends to be sunny and pleasant near the water quite often. Abandoned cranes, old brick factories, and WWII-era concrete waste, has slowly turned into a haven for birds and the start of tide pools. The gritty, industrial backdrop of these little spots make for an interesting view.

I am going to enjoy them while I can.

Marvelous books from Editions Vial

I seem to have amassed a considerable library, the majority (by volume) of which are design and architectural books. A large number of the most amazing and useful décor books in my library come from the French publisher, Editions H. Vial.

These books are, with rare exception, inexplicably unavailable via the "usual" US outlets, but I have had the good fortune of acquiring a number of them in person, at the fabulous bookstore of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and at the recent Chicago gathering of the International Salon of Decorative Painters, where Vial premiered the new (bilingual) book of decorative painting techniques by master trompe l'oeil artist and revered Salon member Michel Nadaï.


Michel was good enough to inscribe a copy of his book for me.

I have purchased a number of well priced volumes via Chapitre in Paris (who ship quickly and without gouging you about handling) and you may buy the books directly through the Editions Vial website.

Michel Nadai's book is also available through several decorative painting schools in the US, like Pierre Finklestein's on-line shop.







some my current favorites are:

Identifying Marble
Decoration de Bois et Marbres
Chefs d'OEvre des Marqueteurs
Modeles de Peinture Polychrome sur Meubles
Art et techniques de la peinture décorative
Meubles et Décors Peints

In a few months, Vial will also release the much-anticipated book Imitations et décors à l'école Van der kelen from the prestigious Van der Kelen Institut supérieur de peinture.


I understand Editions Vial have a booth at the annual SALI exposition this week, and anyone near Charlotte, NC would do well to visit this exposition if only to buy books.
But also be on the lookout for decorative painting DVDs, wonderful stencils from Helen Morris and Sheri Hoeger, as well as all the latest goo being used in the "faux" business these days.

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting

Trompe l'oeil faux travertine casings

Trompe l'oeil to the rescue!
In our current project, the huge windows of the two-story living room have somewhat undersized casings.

So we enlarged them, with a faux travertine finish and some trompe l'oeil egg and dart mouldings.

<------ Samples of the faux finishes

The stone finish makes the casings feel more substantial, and the additional border helps balance the size of the large windows.





To create the travertine finish, a coat of glaze (raw umber + white) is painted over an off-white eggshell finish paint.
A piece of pleated tissue paper is laid on the wet glaze, then smoothed over with a tooth spalter, and quickly removed.
This is repeated with a lighter coloured glaze on top.
This technique gives a fairly convincing textured effect similar to a foro romano travertine limestone.



The egg-and-dart moulding is created using a stencil to block in the "shadow" areas. Additional details are painted in by hand. in this way we can make each one slightly different so they don't look too new or machine-made
Warm white highlights are added as well as some shadows on the wall around the new "casings."




Subtle trompe l'oeil "joints" in the casings help make them look more convincingly assembled from carved stone.










The finished windows have more support for their size
and lend some classic Italian atmosphere to the room.

click on any image to view larger

Lynne Rutter Murals & Decorative Painting