Here are some more inspiring images from the forthcoming Modello by Design-Inspiring Images from Artist’s Portfolios, Part 2. These are all from a talented single artist-Rita Melnick.

A beautiful frieze using TransBor116

Modified panels.

Lovely Art Deco, lined leaves with ModAll111

A simple architectural frame pulled from our Chambord Carpet and Panel pattern.

An interesting wall “bump-out” that looks like a 3-panel screen using OrnTile162

Pssst! Don’t be shy-don’t forget-submit YOUR project photos by October 31…..get the details here….

Back in June, 2008 we published the first edition of Modello by Design-Inspiring Images from Artist’s Portfolios. Featuring the work of 80 different decorative artisans using our Modello patterns, this book has become a definitive resource tool for ideas, inspiration, and enticement for incorporating Modellos into interior and exterior projects. Our next edition will be released in early 2010, and we’ve been receiving some fabulous photos that really highlight the range of options and applications for decorative pattern in surface finishes…

A custom fireplace surround by Joy Conway using a modified version of EasPan109

Beautiful handpainted ceramic bowl by Jeff Raum using Royal Design Studio’s Elegancia Border as a Modello around the edge.

TransBor132 used by Joannie Gaillardia in a decorator showhouse.

Virgina Weathersby’s simple yet highly elegant custom curtains using OrnBor132

Hand painted detailing by Deanne Cunningham over OrnCen 130 on a custom tabletop.

ModAll124 on a contemporary art canvase by Krista Vind.

The deadline for submitting professional-quality project photos for the next Modello by Design book is fast approaching-October 31, 2009. You can find all the details and directions here!

Proof positive that any surface and be enhanced with design and decoration…

We recently had a drawing to encourage our customers to post photos of their projects using Royal Design Studio stencils or Modello Decorative Masking Patterns on our Facebook Fan Page. If there were a prize given for “most unusual surface”, these would have surely won. Kathy Wear is an incredibly creative and talented decorative artist from Tennessee, who has created a unique niche market for herself by offering custom decoration of new, high-end bath, um…fixtures. After applying Primetch through a Modello masking pattern, she then gilds and seals a custom design onto the porcelain surface to create a throne fit for a king, queen-or princess.

UPDATE: A lot of people asked about the process so I posted some basic steps in the Comments section…..

I enjoy showing a lot of pretty final photos of work that our customers do with our Modello Decorative Masking patterns on this blog. You know, TA DA !! You may be wondering, though, “how do they DO that?” The short answer is, “it’s a process”. Recently, Pat Ganino of Creative Evolution chronicalled that process of doing a rather complex custom ceiling decoration on his fabulous message board in this Faux Forum message thread.

What you see above is the pattern “key” that outlines how the individual tiles of cut Modello masking pattern stencils are designed to fit together to cover a LARGE ceiling area. This particular design incorporates many different patterns that were laid out in a customized manner to fit perfectly in the space, and accomodate architectural features that were already in place. 

To assist with this large project, Pat called in Modello grand ceiling expert, Gina Wolfrum. I’ve posted here before about Gina’s fabulous ceilings, and Gina was one of the featured artists in our Modello by Design book. Gina worked with Marc Potocsky to get the pattern pieces installed and lined up perfectly. This is actually the hardest part!

Does this picture make YOU as nervous as it does me??? You can see most of the pattern in place here. The blue material used for this project is our lowest-tack material, and many artists prefer to use this on ceilings as there is less chance for surface damage when removing it later. You see, many times in new construction there are underlying surface issues due to improper prep and priming over dusty drywall. This issue is discussed under Surface Issues on our FAQ page, and sealing with Gardz is another good option.

After removing the transfer tape that holds all the pattern pieces together until they are transferred securely to the surface, Gina gives it all another hard burnish….

…and it’s ready for the fun part-decoration. Because they were using paint for the pattern decoration in this particular project, they also took the extra step to “seal” the pattern by rolling over it with a clear medium. Clear Setcoat from Faux Effects is good for this, but any water-based topcoat will do. This seals the edges of the pattern on the surface, ensuring that the paint to come will not find a way to seep under, and allows for a very clean final print of the design.

Different colors of paint were applied to different areas of the pattern…

…and gold, metallic accent to the banding. Once dry, the pattern is removed…

…and in the matter of a few days a grand, ornate ceiling design is revealed! I so appreciate Pat, Marc, and Gina sharing this with us!! All photos courtesy of The Faux Forum, a great source of information and inspiration-by and for decorative artists from all over the world.

FYI, Pat is now vlogging about his next BIG project-painting two twelve story buildings in Brookly, NY in 60 days.

Can I gloat? Just for a few minutes?!? Please? No, seriously, I recently received a long letter and a series of photos that really just “nails it” as to what I have tried to create and achieve for the decorative finishing and design communities as an artist/entrepreneur, and through our 6 year old company Modello Designs. The letter came the other day from Mia Pratt, principal of Old Pratt Studios….

“As the founder of Old Pratt Studios, an artistic services guild located in Scottsdale, Arizona, I have spent the past decade offering various artistic services to a unique local client base. Having delivered everything from production glazing to large-scale murals on canvas, I can identify two key factors contributing to increased profits and expanded market share for my business in the past few years: targeted marketing investments, and the ‘Melanie Royals factor’.”

“Much of our current success in the artistic services arena is the result of expanding our use of the Melanie Royals product and service offerings through her companies, Modello Designs and Royal Design Studio, as part of our survival and growth strategy.”

“Many local competitors can glaze walls, but few can compete with our more exotic creations. Many of these creations are dependent upon the production capabilities that Modello Designs provides to us for creating large-scale stencils and elaborate, multi-layered designs for our most challenging projects.”

“Until a few years ago I only offered original art and hand-painted design motifs to our clients, because I viewed stencils as something reserved for use by non-artists. But as the demand for larger-scale projects increased, it became apparent that we were not taking advantage of the most up-to-date design, production and application tools available – and that was costing us profits. ”

“At first we only placed small orders for border stencils we used in our model-home projects, but once we discovered the benefits of the Modello decorative masking method, we quickly realized its potential value. The artistic possibilities were endless! I had to correct my former limiting opinion of the role stencils could play in our studio, and re-define our service offering.”

“We now consider Melanie Royals’ Modello Designs studio as an outsourced extension of our own art studio, and we consult with her design and production team as a routine part of business. We forward our design concepts to them based on sketches, photos, tile or fabric samples, and the team responds with detailed black-and-white graphic representations of how those concepts translate into finished designs. We then use those graphics as visuals for our client presentations, helping us close the sale. ” 

“This design and production expertise has not only allowed us to expand our capabilities in decorative art, but has also enhanced our capabilities in the large-scale murals arena. In addition to offering original fine-art murals on canvas, we now create contemporary murals using a variety of stencil overlays and design components, including lettering and logos for commercial projects.”

“This is a tough time to be supporting ourselves as artists, but I believe the key to success in times of challenge is not to look at what has been lost to us, but to instead dig deeper within ourselves to discover what it is we have not yet found. When we do this, we push beyond our current limitations into the realm of who we are becoming, and our world changes to accommodate that new person. In that moment of transformation, whatever limitations existed in the past cease to exist and our world becomes a reflection of who we are right now, in the present – the realm in which all things are possible and our creativity flows freely into the world.”

“I just have to look at who we are and what we create as a community of artists, to remember that artists of all kinds have been at the forefront of societal transformation since the beginning of time. I never forget that we are continually teaching each other, serving each other and creating opportunity for each other, every time one of us is inspired by another’s beautiful work.”

“One of the ways Melanie has served our community is by providing a wonderful resource to help us create things we couldn’t possible create alone; hers is that magical paint-box of exciting tools and new ideas we can use to redefine our businesses and create a more prosperous tomorrow. This represents an important contribution to our community, by one of its most talented entrepreneurs. Thanks, Melanie!” -Mia Pratt

Thank YOU Mia!!! For your lovely words and even lovelier work! We basically “exist” to provide this service to the design community and your appreciation is sweet music to our ears!

Some time ago, Roman Raygoza came to my studio to take a class in mirror decoration using the mirror antiquing product that we carry. I remember him saying that he designed and worked with upholstery trim, which made me think of gimp and tassels….and I like a well-trimmed piece of upholstery as much as the next girl, but….then I recently received an email from Ramon with a link to an article on his company by Balustrade and Bitters that includes some of his gorgeous work on decorative mirrors AND his amazing custom-designed trims.

Ramon in his elegant design studio.

The patterned, patinated mirror tiles using a repetitive Modello pattern…

…reflecting on how beautiful this is…

…and what a way with nailheads!

Delightfully carved wooden tassels….

…and amazingly intricately detailed trimmings. I. want. to. use. this. somewhere.

Full article and more photos on Ballustrade and Bitters.

Roman Raygoza Design Studio
1080 S. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA. 90019
Phone 323-933-3921 Fax 323-933-9115
www.romanraygoza.com
Email:roman@romanraygoza.com

Have you been harboring a burning, yearning desire to take an extended journey to exotic Croatia? Yeah, me neither. That is, until I saw the website for the newly renovated Lesic Dimitri Palace turned boutique hotel  in Korcula, Croatia. You may be wondering how I stumbled upon this little coastal gem…well, actually, they just happened to have used yards and yards of our custom Modello Decorative Masking Patterns for the restoration of the 18th century Bishop’s Palace and 5 surrounding medeival cottages.

Each of the cottages has been turned into a 5-star guest house and each has a different design theme with interiors influenced by the different regions along Marco Polo’s “silk road” travels, including Venice, China, India, Arabia, and Ceylon.

Some of the artwork is difficult to see due to the nuanced tone-on-tone application, but it’s there if you look closely. If you wander through the website you will also see many inspiring examples of all sorts of architectural allover and stencil pattern applications, as well as breathtaking local scenery. Tempting, isn’t it……book your reservations here.

I just love the work of Raina Gentry of Raintree Studios, and not just because she has taken decorative finishing classes with me and also now uses our Modello Decorative Masking Patterns as a basis for most of her mixed media fine art. You see, she will often start with a Modello pattern to create a subtly textured background, upon which she addes paint, charcoal, and ink. It’s the colors, the compositions, the energy, the emotional response….

When Raina works on her canvases, she allows each piece to evolve naturally, without structure or expectation about the final outcome. Through this organic approach, Raina believes that she taps into, and expresses, universal themes that many people can identify with. She herself sometimes doesn’t discover the true meaning of the work to her until years later.

Raina will be teaching her techniques in a hands on workshop at the upcoming art retreat, Art Unraveled 2009 in Phoenix, AZ. Raina’s workshop at Art Unraveled is called “Controlled Chaos”. During this workshop students will learn her artmaking process that will help them tap into their creative subconscious, to work more intuitively, and to experiment as a way of developing new skills. This approach will help students overcome some of the roadblocks that many emerging artists experience in relation to “performance anxiety.” Students will learn a series of techniques that will keep them moving forward with their paintings, have more fun with their artwork, and get them more in touch with their intuition.

Raina sells her original work as well as archival prints of her mixed media canvases through her website Raintree Studios. You can also keep up with Raina’s studio work on her Facebook Page!

I’ve featured some of Nichole Blackburns lovely work on this blog before, and you can find many more examples on her company website, Celadon Studio, showing her high end residential work about the Los Angeles area. Some of her most meaningful and personal work, however, can be found all over the world.

In Thailand…

..Bolivia…

…the Philippines…

…Ireland…

..and New Orleans.  Nichole had already graduated with a degree in fine art and had traveled all over the world when, in 2005, she made a commitment to put a purpose to both these passions and she began to paint “donation murals” in orphanages around the world. Her first 5 international donation murals, shown above, were paid for out of pocket, but Nichole has recently formed a 501 (C) 3 nonprofit corporation and launched a website www.bigskycountries.com to help raise money to sponsor her trips and help to spread the word about her cause.

Nichole’s next mural is scheduled for an orphanage in Morocco this fall, with other murals to follow in Indonesia and India. She is planning a Moroccan-themed fundraiser party August 8 in Manhattan Beach, CA (which I am looking forward to going to!). Tickets are still available, but going fast! Maybe you can make it?? If not, a small donation would be most appreciated for this art from the heart!

Last June we published our very first Modello by Design book, Inspiring Interiors from Artist’s Portfolios, Volume 1. When I put the call out for our customers to submit professional quality photos of their decorative painting projects using our Modello Decorative Masking patterns, I didn’t know what to expect…..Well, we got an amazing response and amazing photos from 80 different artisans and were able to create a beautiful and inspirational resource book that artists turn to for ideas and for a super sales tool for future projects. They say, “a picture is worth a thousand words” and it’s true! Being able to share visual proof of how custom decorative treatments can transform a room can make the difference when it comes to making decorating decisions for designers and homeowners.

Now, it’s time for Volume 2! We plan to publish the next edition in the early part of 2010 and are seeking entries of professional quality photography Modello projects. To “inspire” you, I’d like to share some of the lovely work we’ve received so far, from….

Barbara Wurden of Long Beach, CA….

Tricia George of San Rafeal, CA, and….

Angela Monk of Louisville, MS.

You can imagine the thrill and pride I feel when I see what amazing things these talented artists have done with our pattern products!! I think that this next book is to be off the charts with inspiring art and architecture. If you’re considering submitting some of YOUR projects for our next book, please go here and download the submission forms and read the guidelines carefully. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!!