Églomisé Cephalopod

églomisé mural (~5 feet high) by Lynne Rutter.  photo by David Papas

Allow me to introduce you to Nolan.
Commissioned for a home in Hawaii, Nolan is a very large octopus,  gilt, etched, and painted on the reverse of a 5 foot high slab of glass using a set of techniques known as verre églomisé. 
The body of the octopus is gilt  with aluminum leaf arranged in a random broken pattern to create the texture of the cephalopod's skin.  The thickness of this metal allowed me to etch the details  through it using a cross-hatching pattern very much like etching a printing plate. The suckers of the tentacles are gilt with 22 karat gold.

work in progress, Nolan slinking over a cart in the studio

During the process I asked our client if she'd like to give this noble  creature a name, and she immediately wrote back that his name is  Nolan:  "Nolan came blazing through the ether like a shot…I was completely powerless to do anything else.  I believe he's just been waiting for his opportunity to let us know who he is…what else could I do?"  

detail showing the etching and paua shell eye

The surface of the octopus reflects the color of whatever is near it, much like the way the octopus camouflages itself in the water.  A final touch, the eye is a piece of abalone shell from New Zealand.

Nolan was packed into a very large crate last week and is now en route to a beautiful house on Oahu.  We dearly miss him in the studio and wish him well in his new home.

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

In Memoriam: Garth Benton

Mural by Garth Benton in the Outer Peristyle at the Getty Villa, Malibu CA.  via Flickr

Garth Benton in 1994

This week I was saddened to learn of the passing of a great muralist, Mr. Garth Benton, an internationally recognized artist who was well known for his stylish first-century style trompe l'oeil decoration of the magnificent Getty Villa in Malibu, California. 

Mr. Benton "died a after with battle cancer" in May of 2012. I am surprised I did not see it reported anywhere and I only figured it out after I noticed that his website had gone down and began making inquiries.  Being a pre-internet personality Mr. Benton was not widely mentioned on the web,  but his work was nevertheless world-class, and very well-known in its day.

 trompe l'oeil bas-relief painted by Garth Benton

I had the pleasure of working on a project with Garth Benton many years ago when he came to San Francisco to paint some spectacular Chinoiserie murals in a private residence here.  He had arrived in town with inexplicably blank wallpaper apparently intending to paint the murals on site, but with no help and nowhere near enough time.  I got a desperate call from the wallpaper hanger (who knew I also paint in this style) and rather than ask what the heck had gone wrong, out of respect for this great master painter  I put my nearly entire studio at Mr. Benton's disposal - scaffolding, buckets, tarps, ladders, brushes, and as many assistants as I could round up - and we all learned a lot from him while helping him complete his commission, some of the crew often working until 3 AM or even all night, trying to meet the deadline.  While we painted, we were regaled with entertaining stories about his many celebrity clients and amazing jobs he'd done over the years.  It was exhausting and exciting and the job was truly beautiful.

Ballroom mural by Garth Benton in the Getty Residence, San Francisco

A couple of years later Mr. Benton made headlines for suing his clients, Ann and Gordon Getty, for having painted over one of his older murals in their San Francisco home, which he had hoped to photograph for a glossy catalogue raisonné of his work. The mural had been painted on canvas and could easily have been removed, but the Gettys had not realized this when they redecorated, and had to settle a large amount of money on him for the error.  While I felt deeply over the heartbreaking loss of the artwork, the case made me cringe: suing an otherwise supportive client likely didn't help his future business. The mural is still gone and the book was never published. 

A Chinoiserie mural painted by Garth Benton for Michael Taylor Design in the 1980s

We exchanged a few emails over the years,  but regrettably never did get to meet again.

So I offer this short tribute to Mr. Garth Benton, to be remembered for his fine work, and his influence on a generation of muralists.

images 2-5 via Internet Archive

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

Paris en Grisaille

"Les Monuments de Paris" mural by Lynne Rutter, photo by David Papas

Recently I got the opportunity to return to a client's home to photograph the mural I painted for them. How exciting to see this room finished!   The magnificent Saarinen table is surrounded with chairs upholstered in the most fantastic blue velvet,  and crowned with a vintage Italian chandelier in crystal and rose brass. The floors have a black cerused oak finish.
The interior design of this gorgeous room is the work of Gary Spain.  The shot was styled by Damian Alvarado and photographed by David Papas.  Of course I assisted in the shoot, mainly by looking through the camera now and then and saying "wow, you guys!"

The mural is painted en grisaille using dozens of shades of warm gray, and is patterned after  Les Monuments de Paris by Josef Dufour. It is painstakingly hand-painted in the style of the early 19th century block-printed scenic wallpapers, or papiers peints panoramiques. Unlike the original paper this mural is painted on canvas, and is quite durable, a necessity in a home with young children. I also added a few Paris monuments not found in the original paper and freely (re)arranged the design to best suit the room.

  
More about the creation of this mural here.
click on image to view larger

 

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

Gustavian Bench

I dreamed of a little gray bench

For at least 20 years or more this small neoclassical bench has been kicked around my tiny home - I used it as a vanity stool,  and for a while as a piano bench - all the while it was begging to be reupholstered at least. With a few hours to spare in my studio, I finally got around to doing something about it.

before:  the sweet fluted legs attracted me to this piece

Dating from the 1910s, this nice little bench is blessed with carved fluted legs and is solidly built- but it had a bad break in one part of the frame and had been buried under magazines and finally wound up in my basement gathering even more neglect.  Once in my studio, I  gave my old friend a good dusting-off.

straightened and cleaned

I repaired the break with fish glue and some clamps. All of the joints tightened, the entire surface was then cleaned with fine steel wool and some alcohol.  I didn't bother repairing any dents or scratches.  A couple of layers of walnut crystal stain evened up the wood color and brought it back more to its original intent. I could have given this a nice French Polish this at this point,  but I decided that what I wanted was a simple, painted bench.

after:  the wee painted bench of my dreams

Two coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint gave me the perfect Gustavian look.  This is really nice, easy to use paint for furniture. The color here is "French Linen."     I decided not to "distress" or artificially age the surface any further, as I am sure dings and scrapes will appear in time, quite naturally. The painted surface was burnished and polished with two coats of micro-cyrstalline wax, and finally the seat was re-covered with a bit of Belgian linen left over from one of my artists smocks. 
I'm quite please with this little project.  What do you think?

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

Studio Visit: Atelier Peinture sur Bois, Paris

Work in progress at the studio of Jean-Pierre Besenval

Entrance to the Atelier

One rainy day in Paris, after a fabulous day exploring the Musée Carnavalet, my friend Ziska and I set off through the Marais thinking about a good place for dinner, when we were distracted by the sight of a doorway and signs for the Atelier Peinture Sur Bois, the studio of Jean-Pierre Besenval.
I'm a long-time fan of M. Besenval's painted furniture and have two excellent books on his work.
So of course we ventured inside the courtyard to the shop,  where we were warmly greeted by artist Luigi Madéo, Besenval's longtime collaborator and co-author.
The shop contains a gallery filled with beautifully painted furniture pieces and art panels, all done with traditional media and techniques, and inspired by Italian Renaissance ornament, as well as 15th century Flemish painting and other historic European decorative art.

Luigi Madéo in the atelier

We got to talk about  traditional painting methods and the hopeful revival of these techniques and materials, like gesso, caseins, egg tempera, decorative gilding.

Painted furniture and art panels in the studio/gallery of Jean-Pierre Besenval

work in progress in the studio

The studio itself is a showpiece, with all of its beams and posts painted with colorful traditional designs.

This is I think a great way to raise the height of the ceiling and create a simple architectural opportunity for some splendid ornament.
 

Borders are repeated in different colors and with added elements, and while each beam is unique, the color palette and structure of the ornament is consistent and overall look is cohesive and utterly charming!

The huge support posts in the center of the shop are also decorated, and the designs are painted plumb, even when the  posts themselves are not.

I love this armoire door inset which is spectacularly painted, and seems to pay homage to Renaissance botanical artist  Jacques Le Moyne De Morgues.

Decorative artists will be keen to learn that Jean-Pierre Besenval and Luigi Madéo teach painting classes for furniture and decorative panels in their Paris atelier with the next session beginning in April 2013. 
If you are in Paris, be sure to visit the Atelier Peinture sur Bois at 32 rue de Sévigné in the Marais; or visit the website at www.meublespeints.com 



All photos in the post by Lynne Rutter, October 2011
click on images to view larger

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting