Crash,
collapse, derelict, disaster area, in a
word a wreck. That's just what I found when I ventured back to the bungalow
rental home, the last place I lived in Atlanta's charming Lake Claire
neighborhood. Let's be clear, when I moved in the house had not been lived in
for years and had the predictable deferred maintenance but I went with that and
made decadence my esthetic. In fact I had help.
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| An old church niche and decorative frieze inspired by it. I made the paper star on top, some stark white and strict geometry for contrast. |
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| A lot of decorative painting used to detract from an ugly space heater. The candelabras are fashioned out of twigs painted white and that's a real stem of ivy on top of the mirror. |
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| My Atlanta kitchen with pentimento walls inspired by David Ireland. |
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| A detail of the "space heater decoration", a simple trompe l'oeil technique. |
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| The walls are varnished "as is" and I painted the door to (sort of ) match. You can see a bit more of the mantle painting and the frieze all based on the Victorian Gothic niches. |
David Ireland pointed the way for me with his San Francisco Victorian which I saw published in HG magazine. A
brilliant conceptual artist, David realized while rehabilitating his home that
he needn't return the place to it original condition or conform to any
conventions for that matter. He soon realized the significance of the unfinished,
of pentimento, and of the mystery of the ordinary.
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| This was the bedroom/sitting room of my place. Notice the carved wooden curtains. There are more wooden carved pieces on the mantle and the library is actually created out of a hallway. |
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| Another shot of the bedroom/sitting room. The birds and rings motif is based on Etruscan mural depicting the afterlife. |
Soon after
I moved into my bungalow I discovered an architectural salvage warehouse just
down the road from me which instigated my collection of church artifacts and
assorted carved wooden forms. Also, at this time in the world of decorative architectural
painting Pompeii was once again being mined for it's stunningly creative
murals, wall glazes, and schemes so that was another influence on me.
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| This is my Atlanta bungalow. I added the yellow stripes to the awning. |
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| Then/Now. I painted the front door Frida Kahlo blue but currently (as seen on the right) you'll note there's no door to be found! |
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| This Wally Aero Eagle from the 50s was parked across the street from my old house. If only my old house looked this good. It's a shame because the Lake Claire neighborhood is otherwise in great shape. |
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| This was in the window of the Wally. |
It's a little
ironic that when I left Atlanta and moved to San Francisco I couldn't
wait to paint all the walls stark white. I'm still pretty much that way. I like
a neutral background. That's my dream house. Actually for the past several years I've been into traditional Japanese architecture, dark stained wood against white. What do you like?
