Studio Visit: Paolo Bellò, Sologna, Italy

In which we are greeted by the warmest of Venetian smiles

trompe l'oeil coffered ceiling by Paolo Bellò with various rosette designs 

Stucco bas-relief in Stile Liberty by Paolo Bellò

From Venice I took the regional train to Bassano del Grappa, where I was greeted by Paolo Bellò and his wife Stefania, and two of the warmest of Venetian smiles, then on to town of Sologna where Paolo's studio occupies a prominent place on the main street.

I first met Paolo at the Salon in Lecce in 2015. At that time he was shy about speaking English, mainly because he didn't speak English. Since then, he and Stefania have been taking intensive English classes in order to better communicate with their new international friends.  Among them, the Irish painter Noel Donnellan, with whom Paolo recently formed a collaborative company called Pigmentti.  While it can be argued that studying English does not always help a person understand Noel when he gets going, both of these guys can paint, and they sure get the job done. 

The Sologna, Italy studio of Paolo Bellò features several workrooms, and a mezzanine displaying samples of work. The giant mistletoe design is for a house in Switzerland and was rendered in stucco bas-relief.

In his enormous and beautifully organized studio, Paolo treated me to a comprehensive demonstration of stucco bas-relief, one of his specialties.  

After showing me the basics of  traditional marmorino, its mixing, application and finishing, as well as ways to color it, Paolo transferred a design onto the still damp plaster using a spolvero (pounce) and some charcoal.

the spolvero transfers the design onto damp plaster

special stucco carving tools, some you buy, some you hack !

While still soft the marmorino is scratched out along the design to key the surface. New white stucco is added into the ornament areas and then sculpted using special tools.

detail of stucco being built up

Paolo Bellò sculpting detail in the stucco ornament

As the stucco hardens finer detail can be added, but all of this must be timed just so and this requires a real understanding of the material and what it can do.

Paolo Belló has worked in decoration since the age of 14. He attended the European Centre for Heritage Crafts and Professions in Venice.  Then after studying with maestro Ennio Verenini in Bassano, Paolo was invited to join the Verenini decoration company, and three generations of knowledge was passed on to him over the next 20 years. He opened his own studio in 1994.

The hundreds of sketches, samples, maquettes, and tools in the studio are a testament to the the life's work of this consummate artisan.

optional designs for a doorway: on the right, Paolo pays tribute to his favorite architect, Carlo Scarpa.

Exterior Design: sketches for two possible treatments which include ornament, color and relief stucco work.

During my visit Paolo and Stefania took me on a tour of their favorite Veneto sights: the Tomba Brion of Carlo Scarpa, and the Palladian Villa Barbaro with its Veronese frescoes that make my heart sing.   Along the way we passed  houses Paolo has decorated with fresco sundials or ornament, keeping alive the tradition of the Veneto artisans. 

Noel, Lynne, and Paolo at the Salon 2018 in Leeuwarden.*

 

I look forward each year to attending the International Decorative Painters Salon, where I have met so many friends and fellow artists from around the world.   

 

See more of  Paolo Bellò's work on his website.

Tomba Brion by Carlo Scarpa
Villa Barbaro

photos in this post by Lynne Rutter, Sologna, 2018
except * by Stefania Bellò

Lynne Rutter Studio

The Salon- Art Deco in New York City

 In which we are both humbled and inspired...

Pascal Amblard's portrait of fellow painter Sean Crosby

I just returned from New York City, where I participated in the annual confabulation of decorative painters known simply as  "the Salon."  Decorative painters from 18 different countries came together to share their work and techniques with each other and the public.  This year's hosts Arlene McLaughlin and Jeanne Schnupp, chose the theme of Art Deco, a style of decor and architecture inextricably linked with the city of New York.

The exhibition showcases outstanding examples of imitation wood and marble, murals, lettering, gilding, wallpaper design, and trompe l'oeil.  Less visible is the affinity  between these artists and the friendships developed over the years that go well beyond professional camaraderie.

Nowhere was this bond more beautifully expressed than in this mural (left) featuring a portrait of New York artist Sean Crosby painted by his longtime friend and collaborator, Pascal Amblard of France. For a number of reasons this painting had a great emotional impact on me and pretty much everyone else at the Salon.

Karl Groissenberger (Austria) tribute to the Wiener Werkstätte

Austrian painter Karl Groissenberger designed a show-stopper of a panel which celebrates the birth of Modernism in Austria from the Wiener Werkstätte, who for a time also had a shop on 5th Ave in New York. Iconic designs from Josef Hoffman and others are displayed in a blonde walnut art deco bookcase. Along with those shoes.  Those shoes I adore!

Here is but a sampling of some of the great work our international colleagues exhibited this year:

Barre Verkerke (Netherlands) faux marbre with metallic frame and lettering 

detail of a trompe l'oeil piece by Julien Gautier (France)

Exhibit showing work from Tina Davis (USA/Italy) and Lynne Rutter (USA)

Helen Morris (England)  stenciled skyscrapers!

Spectacular faux marbre and lettering by Kristoffer Hermansson (Sweden)

Cathy Chiavaro  (USA)  look closely at the cityscape

Friederike Schulz (Germany) painted a classic deco-era German wallpaper design

Petr Dashchenko (Russia) A superb tribute to Soviet-era Art Deco.

Detail of painting by Stefano Luca (Italy)

glossy book jackets painted by Valerie Naulleau (France)

A gargoyle of the Chrysler Building framed in faux bois/marbre by Gert-Jan Nijsse (Netherlands) 

Next year the Salon travels to Leeuwarden, Friesland, in the Netherlands.

photos in this post by Lynne Rutter

Many more images of this year's Salon can be found at Salon NYC 2017 on Facebook

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Lynne Rutter Studio

Studio Visit: Jennifer Carrasco

Ship of Fools:   Chinosierie mural detail by Jennifer Carrasco*

So a couple of years ago, I get this email from my friend Jennifer Carrasco asking about canvas for a big job... I love talking shop with my fellow muralists and I was happy to dump all sorts of advice on her whether needed or not.  For the next year or so there was a lot of back and forth about the technical and physical challenges of this huge commission of Chinoiserie, which Jennifer designed in a highly personal style including many details that resonated with her client's personality and philosophy.  The 20 foot high mural panels were painted for a fabulous home on Vashon Island, creating a truly over-the-top fantasy rivaling anything you can find in Brighton or Drottningholm. 

Jennifer Carrasco in the fantastic Chinoiserie mural she created for her client on Vashon Island*

As I am a huge fan of Jennifer and her work I was very excited to get a chance to visit her Seattle garden studio after Salon 2014 was held in Seattle last May,  just after this stupendous mural had been installed.

Jennifer in her studio, scale drawing of her Chinosierie mural

Surrounded by her garden,  Jennifer's studio is a charming and compact creative space cleverly outfitted to her needs thanks in large part to the carpentry genius of her partner, Phil.

Large projects require enormous amounts of organization and planning, especially when being produced in smaller spaces.  The entire chinoiserie project was designed and laid out in a scale drawing overlaid with a carefully numbered grid, the staggered panels were measured and cut in a large sail loft, and then sent to a commercial paint shop to be spray painted with the gradated colors of the background, then the grid transferred to the canvas.

Phil designed an ingenious system to allow Jennifer to paint these 20+ foot high mural panels in this studio, by devising  two stations with "drafting table" style painting areas and  pairs of rollers to dispense and roll up the canvas.  This way Jennifer can paint seated at a large, angled table rather than standing on ladders, or sitting on the floor or any of the other difficult postures we  have to assume when doing large pieces   Jennifer bragged to me early on that this set up "has added years to my mural painting life."

Inside and outside, Jennifer Carrasco's garden studio in Seattle

This clever mural painting set-up allows for comfortable ergonomic painting while seated.*

behind the mural painting wall is beautifully organized storage 

I really loved the storage opportunity that was built into the back of the painting wall.  I'm afraid I am the type to get rather too excited about such things.

In addition to this charming style of Jenoiserie, as she calls it, Jennifer is well known for illustration work and for painting  fearlessly colorful murals and environments such as the famous ballroom of the Seattle restaurant The Ruins.   Her work is infused with humor, nature and pure joy.    You can see more of her paintings at her beautiful website.

 
Selected Jenoiserie is also available now via Spoonflower in fabric, wallpaper and other printed items!!

Chinoiserie peonies by Jennifer Carrasco*

color samples and sketches at Jennifer Carrasco's studio

Photos in this post by Lynne Rutter
and *courtesy Jennifer Carrasco






International Decorative Painters Salon

Lynne Rutter Studio

Studio Visit: Masao Hanawa | Salon Tokyo!

Masao Hanawa stands in front of his mural "Seven Samurai" painted for Toho Studios, Tokyo*

I recently returned from a trip to Tokyo where I participated in a unique event known as "the Salon."  Each year in a different city,  decorative painters and muralists from all over the world gather to exhibit their work, demonstrate techniques for each other and the public, exchange ideas, and of course, party.  Salon Tokyo 2013 was brilliantly hosted by the fabulous Yaeko Kurimata, my friend and colleague on the other side of the Pacific, whose studio I visited in 2009.
 

my exhibit panels for Salon Tokyo featured a Yomuiri Giants (Tokyo) baseball player and Toshiro Mifune from the Kurasawa film "Seven Samurai" painted on copper-gilt canvas.

 

Though I have not attended Salon in some years, I do credit this annual event with having introduced me to some great comrades-in-paint, among them Pascal Amblard, Alison Woolley, Lucretia Moroni, Karl Groissenberger,  Niels Jongdahl and so many others!

East Meets West in Niels Jongdahl's' masterful trompe l'oeil painting.

In a business that can be terribly competitive, closed, and often lonely and demoralizing, Salon participants tend to be open, appreciative, happy to share, willing to argue, and above all supportive of each others art practice,  which I believe comes from the assured confidence of someone who really knows their craft and loves their work.

So here I have just hung my panels at the Salon exhibition space, feeling generally humbled, when I caught sight of this painting:

Masao Hanawa's monumental self-portrait. The beautiful ornamental panels to the left are by Jean-Luc Sablé

and fell instantly and desperately in art-love with it, and incidentally with whomever is responsible for painting it.  This is my kind of painting:  surreal-scaled, detailed, a bit unconventional, and beautifully painted. I was stunned and elated while fellow painters gathered around it, arguing about how it was painted and with what medium or tools.

Masao Hanawa demonstrating at Salon Tokyo

Then behind me I heard Masao Hanawa speaking, in fluent Italian, with Stefano Luca (another fantastic painter, beyond all belief) at which point I basically sputtered some complimenti and ran outside to calm down.  (Understand for an agoraphobic person such as myself that I am already on threat level orange in a frenetic city like Tokyo, so I must run and hide fairly frequently.)

The next day I found Masao-san painting a  Boucher-esque panel of cherubs and worked up the nerve to talk to him. He showed me his portfolio which features a gigantic ~80 foot high mural (see above) of the Seven Samurai painted on an exterior wall of Toho Studios,  (are you sensing a theme here?) and from there we had a very easy conversation which continued throughout the week and revealed many other shared interests.    

After Salon ended and the participants reluctantly parted ways, I had an extra day in town and was able to make a short visit to the Atelier Hanawa.

Large scale trompe l'œil by Masao Hanawa at Tokyo DisneySea Resort *

work in progress, tools, and light fill the large shop of Atelier-Hanawa, Tokyo

grisaille sample for the 7 Samurai mural repurposed as a screen

I like visiting the studios of other muralists when I travel- I find it gives me some insight into the process; what do we have in common (storage issues!) and what space-saving or cool tips can I pick up - or share?

Masao-san has painted enormous amounts of trompe l'œil and fresco-style murals for Tokyo DisneySea and many other commercial spaces as well as a masterful oil paintings in the Northern European tradition.  He also spent several years living in Genoa, Italy, painting and  restoring mural work there, and furthering his skills in classical European style painting.     

You should visit m-hanawa.com for many more stunning examples of his accomplished painting style.    

Trompe l'œil murals and grottesche ornament by Masao Hanawa *

some moments in the studio of Masao Hanawa, Tokyo

Masao Hanawa in his studio

further reading - more pictures:
  

Salon Forever

Atelier Hanawa website

Akira Kurasawa

Toshiro Mifune

SalonTokyo2013 @Flickr  more pictures from this amazing event

Lynne's previous posts about Japan
 
jib door is in the glossary!

images in this post by Lynne Rutter,  May 2013
except *  ©Masao Hanawa
click on images to view larger

Lynne Rutter Studio

Studio Visit: Atelier de la petite écurie, Château de Versailles

Cherub from the chamber of the queen, carved by Fanchelli and gilt à la grecque by Daniel Sievert.  photo: Lynne Rutter 

A fascinating and integral part of my work is the restoration of historic buildings, surfaces, furniture, and antiques.  It's not my primary business these days, but it inspires and informs my work and the techniques I employ every day.  When I travel I am excited to see the work of other restoration artisans, so I am especially thrilled to share with you my visit to the Château de Versailles, more specifically,  this glimpse inside the atelier of the gilder-restorers. 

Laurent Hissier and Daniel Sievert. photo by Jerôme Hissier

I met gilder and decorative painter Laurent Hissier via the internet, and in 2007 made a visit to Versailles to meet him and see his work at the palace. My friends and I were given a warm welcome by Laurent and his mentors, master gilder Daniel Sievert and renowned decorative painter Pierre Lefumat, and treated to a stunning backstage tour of some of the non-public parts of the palace.  I felt an immediate and strong affinity for these kindred spirits; their commitment to their work is so inspiring.  They are but a few of the nearly one thousand people working in relative anonymity to care for this spectacular palace.
Standing in a small bedroom, in what might be called the attic, crammed with broken gilt chairs and other odd bits of furniture that are more or less priceless, Laurent remarked that this a life’s work that is never finished. This is why it is so important to pass on the knowledge. 

restoration in progress of a gilt wood bench. photo: Lynne Rutter

Laurent and I kept up a correspondence via email, while I anxiously anticipated the book he and Daniel were writing -  the book - detailing everything they know about gilding. 

In October I visited Versailles again and called on my friends in the gilding atelier, where I was presented with a beautifully inscribed copy of  Art et Techniques de la Dorure à Versailles - Gilding at Versailles!

buy this book!

The gilding and restoration workshop is an airy, beautiful studio housed in the petite écurie, the former stables of the King.  Restoration is a ceaseless effort here; restorers have access to the best materials, the support of the state, and a seemingly endless stream of thrilling projects working on priceless items of national importance.  The sense of purpose and responsibility one feels there is truly awesome.  

The gilder-restorers’ work is traditional in nature, with techniques passed down from teacher to student, from master to apprentice, forming an unbroken link from the creation of a piece to its renewal, and then on to the next generation of restorers to come.   Gilding at Versailles  documents this work and continues this tradition. The book represents generations of accumulated knowledge from work done in the palace over the years.

excerpt from Gilding at Versailles - step by step restoration of a gilt console

excerpt from Gilding at Versailles; phot0: Adrien Brotons: Laurent water gilding a frame.  The gilders tip (brush) is being held with a hampe, or gilder's pole.  The book includes instructions for how to carve your own. 

Ziska, Daniel, and Lynne in the studio

limestone stairway to the atelier

My colleague Ziska Childs and I had a nice visit with Daniel.  Ziska is an accomplished scenic artist and designer, and having lived in Paris, she fortunately speaks French rather well. Artisans from other areas of the atelier came in to meet the visiting artists from America.  We told them all how famous Daniel is. 
Laurent was unfortunately away that  day. Where?  Oh, he was in Italy restoring something in the Vatican Palace. Yes I know how that sounds.  It is exactly how it sounds... what a life! 

a vivid assortment of pigments photo: Lynne Rutter

a carved and gilt sample in the atelier  photo: Lynne Rutter

Master gilder and wood carver Daniel Sievert came to Versailles at the age of 14 as apprentice to Maître Grandvoinet, a master craftsman well known across France, the titular gilder of the castle.  After many years working alongside his mentor, Daniel joined the CTFDU Compagnons du Tour de France des Devoirs Unis, a French guild of craftsmen with the highest standards of training, and earned the honorable title Ile de France au cœur d’or, a true master gilder.  He returned to the Versailles atelier as sculptor and restorer of bois doré  (gilded wood), and in 1977 succeeded M. Granvoinet as head gilder.      

a collection of moulds of classical ornament for decorating frames  photo: Lynne Rutter

Laurent Hissier started working at the Château de Versailles as a night watchman, and spent many long hours studying the decorative work in the palace interior while checking for security issues.  He took it upon himself to learn and practice the techniques used in the  décor of the palace.  He was taught casting and molding by Yvon Bailleul in the sculpture workshop, and in 2003 was accepted into the gilder-restorer workshop, to train with Maître Sievert.  Laurent also studied with  Pierre Lefumat, a world-famous master of faux finishes,  who taught him the techniques of faux marbre and painted finishes while working in the  palace. 

faux limestone finish painted by Laurent Hissier

Maître Lefumat passed in 2010, a loss felt keenly by everyone at Versailles, and indeed the entire decorative painting community.
Daniel Sievert retired at the end of 2011 after 52 years of dedicated service and splendid work.
The torch has been passed to Laurent, restaurateur en bois doré et peintre en décors.

Laurent also teaches traditional gilding at the Ecole d'Art Murals de Versailles, and he has a blog where he posts inspiring pictures of the work he is doing:   dorure-versailles.blogspot.com 

apprentices working in the studio   photo: Lynne Rutter

Laurent's beautifully rendered faux bois doors and faux marbre supports

After our studio visit Ziska and I toured the Palace to see some of the work of Daniel and Laurent, and  Maîtres Lefumat and Grandvoinet,  and all those that came before them. 

 

Detail of one of 24 carved limewood and gilt frames, circa  1687 (recently restored)  in the Cotelle Gallery of the Grand Trianon, Versailles.  

further reading:

Art et Techniques de la Dorure à Versailles - Gilding at Versailles 
by Laurent Hissier and Daniel Sievert  

L'Art du Faux Marbre
by Pierre Lefumat
published by Editions Vial with both French and English text
available from Pierre Finkelstein at fauxbrushes.com



Excerpts from Gilding at Versailles use with permission. 
photos by Lynne Rutter unless otherwise noted

Lynne Rutter Studio