The Ornamentalist

A Hidden Gem in Boston

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:11:00 +0000

Incredible circular stairway leading up to a 30 foot diameter leaded glass dome

I recently visited the fine city of Boston for the first time, just last week, and I spent a wonderful day squired about by local artist and blonde vivant, Mark Hänser.

Operating on a tip from my fellow ornamentalist Cleta, we wandered off the Freedom Trail and scoped out the New England College of Optometry, which is housed in part in a grand 1894 mansion in the historic Back Bay district. The staff obliged me by allowing me to snoop around with my camera.

Students crammed for exams in the splendid Victorian rooms, while we tiptoed through some of the more fabulous parts of the house, gobsmacked at the beautiful oak paneling and magnificent ornamental painting.

above: superbly painted ornamental frieze over a gilt ground in the foyer/sitting area off the main stairway. These murals are painted on canvas and glued to the walls.

Oak stairway topped with a gorgeous leaded glass dome and Italianate ornament painted over gold leaf.

The school campus was completely renovated in the late 1990’s and has won local and national awards for outstanding preservation and adaptive use of historic buildings. The decorative painting remains in very good condition.

Detail of painted Italiante ornament with stenciled gilt background

A fantastic gold mosaic effect was created by stenciling a geometric pattern over the gold leaf base prior to painting the ornament. This breaks up the reflected light and really gives a marvelous impression, especially in the low winter light. I fully intend to try this technique in a future project!

The school also has a cozy library and study area, with beautiful ornamental plaster ceilings and polychromed lincrusta on the walls. Look closely at the detail- how many times have I seen this fantastic material painted glossy white? Painted in this way it can emulate Renaissance-era embossed leather wallcoverings.

detail of textured library walls

A florid bit of polychromed lincrusta with 12 karat gold accents, in the NECO library

All images in this post by Lynne Rutter

please click on the images to see them at larger size!

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

The Last Time I Watched the Super Bowl

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:45:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 06:08:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 08:21:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 06:21:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:43:00 +0000

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.

Oil Gilding Workshops

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:05:00 +0000

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

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:39:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:30:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:25:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:15:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:55:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 05:15:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:20:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 04:57:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 07:23:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 01:28:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:28:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:36:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:16:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:34:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:16:00 +0000

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
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Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

Re-thinking Batik: The Language of Cloth

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:54:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 22:22:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lynne Rutter) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 04:39:00 +0000

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