Wedded Kiss

Maestro and Empress have tied the knot! As you read this we are on our way to the scenic desert for some warm, moonlit nights.  We look forward to our future which is sure to be filled with love, beauty, and music.  

photo by Karen Johnson



More about the Leviathan in the Baroque Grotto here

Eye of the Beholder

 Lover's eye portrait pin with seed pearls, circa 1810

Since writing my first post about miniature eye portraits  (September 2008) or "Lovers Eyes" as they are often called,   I have managed to get even a bit more obsessed with them, and even succeeded in finding one for my very own (above) via Tail of the Yak in Berkeley, one of my favorite sources for inspiring things.

Last year I started restoring a family collection of miniature portraits and have spent many hours looking closely at how they were painted.

I like to paint at very large scale, and in so doing I closely examine and celebrate details and moments in paintings that would otherwise just be accents.  Perhaps because of this examination, these intimate little gems really enthrall me, and I have been researching the techniques involved in creating them. Usually miniature portraits were painted with gouache or watercolor on ivory, and later cellulose nitrate, also known as ivorine.  Lover's eyes  were nearly always mounted into jewelry:  pins, pendants, and sometimes rings.   Mourning jewelry sometimes took this form as well.
In my research I found a number of artists  from the 20th century who were working in this medium, as well as contemporary artists who are reviving this art in their own fashion.

Tabitha Vevers has painted some beautiful lover's eyes based on portraits by Simon Martini, Ingres,  and even Man Ray.
The image at left is one of Vevers' lover's eye miniatures, painted in oils after a Bronzino portrait.

Mona Connor has recently started a series of miniature eye portraits using  egg tempera, and has even started a blog about this project.

Eye portrait of Erling Wold,  250% of life size, oil on panel ©Lynne Rutter

I might continue to work larger than life, but I am so inspired by these tiny tributes, and the methods used to create them, that I may be launching a new project of my own soon.

Lynne Rutter Studio

Recent Press for Moi

Today I learned my interview with the Faux Finisher Magazine resulted in the cover story for the Spring 2010 issue, including a seven page spread about my "illustrious and varied career"  with lots of color pictures.  PDF of article here.

This is a painting and decorating trade magazine published by the PDRA, for specialists in the decorative painting industry.
 

Lynne Rutter Murals +  Decorative Painting

Musing

A splendid corner bit, from a ceiling at the MAK, Vienna. 

 photo by Lynne Rutter, Vienna, Austria 2008
click on image to view much larger.

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

Florentine Furniture Painting

The traditional Florentine methods for decorating furniture and cabinetry and the work of Alison Woolley, of FlorenceArt.net in Florence, Italy

hand-painted dresser by Alison Woolley of FlorenceArt.net

The techniques used and taught by Alison Woolley of FlorenceArt.net come from the historical tradition of decorators working in the artisan district of Florence, Italy. This craft developed its many rich facets over many centuries, starting with the decoration for churches and altar panels in the 13th century and continuing on to the present day.   Decorators perfected techniques for decorating wooden surfaces, gilding them and coloring them with a rich variety of designs and finishes. The Florentine techniques are useful for creating some very special accent furniture pieces, cabinetry, or unique art panels.
 If you want to learn how to restore antiques, or do conservation or decoration work for old houses, it's best to start with learning about how they were created originally.

delicate details in a well worn painted dresser by Alison Woolley

In addition to painted finishes, Alison excels at gilding and the traditional methods of gilt furniture decoration, traditional water gilding techniques and decorative techniques for gilded surfaces.  Alison teaches these traditional methods in classes at her studio in Florence, Italy.

~ Design and transfer techniques for historical styles of ornament
~ Techniques for decorating wooden frames, furniture, and cabinetry using traditional materials such as casein, gesso, bole, varnish, and wax.
~ Historic painting techniques for creating Italian and French country style painted  furniture
~ Techniques used in restoration of antique furniture and frames
~ Antiquing and patina techniques for creating a genuine, softly aged finish.
~ Traditional water gilding, punchwork, sgraffito, and other decorative gilding techniques

A hand-painted kitchen hutch by Alsion Woolley of FlorenceArt.net

Sgraffito and gilding samples by Alison Woolley of FlorenceArt.net

Alison Woolley

Alison Woolley has been a practicing artisan in Florence for  over 25 years. She developed her craft working for many years in several well known botteghe or workshops of Florence, before opening  her own studio and is now widely know for her level of craft, with an international clientele and hundreds of students from all over the world.

You may see more of her work and a schedule of classes at her website FlorenceArt.net

We hope to host Alison at Lynne Rutter studio soon.