America

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This image has been on my mind lately.

detail from the frescoes in Sant'Ignazio Church, Rome
painted by Andrea Pozzo, circa 1698

photo by Lynne Rutter April, 2008

Lynne Rutter Murals and Decorative Painting

Marouflage Ceiling in progress

Sierra touching up the canvas after install

122 hand painted ornaments, 28 canvases, 12 colors of paint, 5 rolls of 22k ribbon gold leaf...

This week we started to hang the "Italian Ceiling" which we have been painting on canvas in the studio for the last several months.








I am elated that my fabulous installer Peter Bridgman, who has been living in Florence the last year or more studying art restoration techniques, came home just in time to help me with this project.

coffers, being sized before canvasing

Each ceiling panel is pasted with clay based adhesive and allowed to dry. The back of the canvas is then moistened with water, and a second, fat coat of paste put on the ceiling just before the canvas is applied.

marouflage installation in progress

In the longest panel we found that the chandelier electrical box was not actually in the center. Bad news, since an elaborate rosette was painted for the center. This is always a danger when painting canvases for ceilings that have not yet been framed. No matter what the carpenters tell you about how perfect their measurements are, they are never, ever correct. That's why the design of this ceiling incorporated a lot of "bleed" on the outside edges.

Peter's technique is to find the "priority" edge and work from there. Sometimes the priority is the "center", and sometimes is the spot that makes the ornament line up with the ornament in the next coffer. Some pulling and adjusting and language is usually needed. Most of the panels, however, seem to smooth out like butter on bread.

trimming the canvas and adding some final touches

Once the canvases are smoothed into place they are left to rest while they tighten; they are then trimmed neatly to fit perfectly. My assistants and I paint the lighting trim, vent covers, etc. to match, and touch up or embellish wherever needed.


After today the false floor that allowed us access to this part of the 22 foot high ceiling is being removed, so we were in a crush to get that area finished.
Next week we will install the remaining 17 ceiling panels, and start working on the walls! stay tuned....


Marouflage is in the glossary!

Lynne Rutter Murals + Decorative Painting

A Grotesque Ornament

Lynne's demonstration panel recreating a detail from a large ceiling mural

ornament in progress

Here are some work in progress pictures of an ornament I used as a demonstration panel at Salon earlier this month.

This is version of a large spandrel element I designed for a huge ceiling in the Paris Casino Resort in Las Vegas. That design was inspired by the ceiling ornament in the St Francis of Assisi Church in Sacramento, which I got to study closely while working on its restoration.

 I still have my master drawings from the Paris ceiling, so I used one of the pounces to transfer part of the design onto some primed canvas.
The basic shapes are blocked in with two colors: pale green and salmon pink.

Lynne Rutter's ceiling in the Paris Casino Resort

work in progress

 

Next the foliate shapes are shaded with several colors, and accented with yellow ochre. I use a dry brush technique to do this, so that the base color still shows through a bit.
All this makes for a pretty wild palette, but it's very effective especially from some distance.

The ornament is further defined by lining it with burnt sienna.

This panel found a home in nearby Elgin. Enjoy it, Sigi!


Photos of the wonderful work exhibited at Salon at Flickr

Spandrel is in the glossary!

Lynne Rutter Studio

Erling in the Pink

Maestro Erling Wold, has today been made just a bit more famous, in this swell feature by Joshua Kosman in the San Francisco Chronicle.
You can find this in the Sunday May 18 Datebook "Pink Section"

There is also this great photo of our renown tenor John Duykers, rehearsing his role as Edvard Mordake, in a spectacular orientalist robe by Kathleen Crowley.



PS Erling's boots are actually PINK .

update! rave reviews are pouring in.
Joshua Kosman's review in the Chronicle
SF360

The Fantastic World of Edvard Mordake

two painted roomscapes which will form Mordake's bedroom

Mordake, Erling Wold's latest opera, tells the story of the 19th century aristocrat, Edvard Mordake, who was driven mad by his twin sister - a female face on the back of his own head.
I was asked to help visualize the setting- a suite of rooms fit for a Victorian gentleman.

I found plenty of inspiration at Richard Reutlinger's lovingly restored Victorian house in San Francisco, especially in the master bedroom, which features a Dresser-inspired frieze painted by my late friend and mentor, Larry Boyce.
I photographed some rooms, and made a Thurber-esque line drawing, as well as a simplified gouache painting of the bedroom (above) which are all to be computer- modified by Erling and German visual artist Freider Weiß, and then projected on stage to create Edvard's world. The large mirror I left blank, as they will be adding some invented reflections there. The set will alternate between photos, video, drawings, and paintings, to create varying levels of reality and fantasy.
And I hope Larry won't mind that in making my paintings of this room, I filled in his rather glaring persian flaw, so as to leave room for one of my own.

Mordake by Erling Wold, a solo performance with tenor John Duykers, premiers May 22 and runs through June 7, 2008

More information and musings on this subject can be found on Erling's blog.

Mordake is featured on the cover of Theater Bay Area this month!

Lynne Rutter Studio