Our weekly series on Stencil Stars™ showcases our customer’s use of our mylar wall stencils and Modello™ masking stencils on walls, ceilings, floors, and more. We  are so happy to be able show off our talented customers and inspire you with creative ideas for using stenciled pattern in your painting projects!  This week, we feature Denise Cerro of San Diego’s own Cerro Paint.

Denise Cerro

ABOUT CERRO PAINT

Denise Cerro has been a decorative artist in San Diego for over 20 years.  She started out with painted furniture, moved into faux finishes and stencils, and finally took on murals and hand-painted techniques at a client’s request. She has painted in many designer showcase homes and enhanced her portfolio with numerous decorative painting workshops.  Although still taking on wall commissions, she seems to have come full circle back to my her first love of painted furniture by doing custom furniture pieces for clients as well as furniture and canvas pieces for her retail space at Leaping Lotus in Solana Beach, CA. Today we have a chance to delve into the inside details of her creative work.

Stunning ceiling with a custom Modello Designs stencil pattern.

What draws you to Stenciling?
I tend to like very clean, graphic lines in both walls and furniture. For me, the stencils I am drawn to add a sense of fluidity, curve and sometimes whimsy to a piece. They really are the eye candy where just a touch will make a piece pop. On walls, my favorite is allover stencils with clean crisp moldings surrounding them…graphic and soft all at the same time.

The Scrollallover Furniture stencil is perfectly sized for furniture as seen on the front surface above and on the sides of drawers below.  It is also available in a larger size for walls and ceilings.  In the image above, you can also spy our Kimono Allover from our Allover Japanese Pattern stencils on the flooring.

How do you determine which pattern will work for your project?
My project patterns are determined in two ways. If I’m working with a client, I listen carefully to what their needs and goals are and then give
them all the materials, information and advice they need to make a decision on the design. I always say I don’t have to sit with a cup of coffee or glass of wine and look at the finished product every day, they do. I  lead them in the direction of their desired results.
If it’s a piece for me or my shop, it’s a different story. I’m very intuitive and may not know what I want to do until my hands are on the piece of furniture or the wall.  It’s very tactile and I throw myself into it. When I’m cleaning or sanding a piece, ideas for color start to seep in and once I have to color, I use the stencil pattern that works best with the piece. Sometimes I find a stencil I have to have and will find a furniture piece or wall to paint it on!

The Flourish Allover stencil from our Allover Damask line makes a striking impression in metallic gold over a rich red.  Here is a close-up.

How does Stenciling enhance your creative business?
There is such a huge selection of stencils out there though I always shop first and find what I need at Royal Design Studio.  I love that for me, it’s local! I enjoy playing with color and then, by adding a stencil pattern, I can change the project’s look and style.  It adds so much versatility to my painting arsenal. Not to mention customers LOVE a stencil pattern! I attribute many of my pieces selling because of the painted stencil pattern.

The Kimono Allover is used on furniture (above top) along with Annie Sloan Chalk Paints-her favorite new paint medium.  On the above bottom is our Villa Classic from our Classic Panels along the top with decorative papers decoupaged on the drawer fronts (such a clever use of mixed media!).  Below you will find the Allover Modern line’s Springtime in Paris stencil on the desktop and the Kimono Allover stencil again-but this time stenciled on the concrete floor (love!).

It’s so nice to see someone who so obviously enjoys their “work” and is able to create a life worth painting. Thanks Denise for sharing your talents with us!  Please do visit her website to see more of her work.  You can also keep up with Denise’s painting adventures via her blog, Cerro Home, and Facebook page.