Author Archive

I recently took a vacation from my painting contractor business and made an 8-day trip to San Francisco and Northern California with my family. It was a delightful trip, filled with wondrous nature moments and City sites as well.

Stones from Mendocino, California

Upon my return, I had an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of “vacation”. I shared with my Office Manager that I spent two hours looking for stones on a coastal beach in Mendocino. She said: “You did what? You must have had a lot of time on your hands!” She was right!

This section of beach was covered with course charcoal color sand – a most unusual sight! On the sand, or partially covered, laid countless stones that had been polished and rounded off by nature’s handy work. I was fascinated by them and started looking for stones, of different sizes, that could be stacked on top of one another to create a sort of “rocky montage”. I could not wait to get to my office to sort through my stones and create my montage! It is shown in the attached picture.

To me, vacation is about getting lost in what I love, without the constraint of time. As a painting craftsman, I love nature and its handy work. It is an endless source of delight and inspiration for me. The work of nature affirms that patient and steady work accomplishes great things! Those are qualities I strive to demonstrate every day in my painting contractor business.

Painters have long known about the hazards of lead. Lead in paints was made illegal in the United States in 1978. In France and other European countries, it was banned in the late 1910’s. However, the hazards of exposure to lead dust and vapors had been known and documented nearly 250 years earlier!

A painter from Paris, by the name of J. L. Watin, published a book in 1772 entitled: “ The Art of Painting, Gilding and Varnishing” (translation). Among other things, this book graphically describes the symptoms of a disease known as “painters’ colic” or “ceruse”. What was he talking about?

A Painter - Victim of Lead Poisoning, Circa 1772

What Mr.Watin was describing were the effects of lead poisoning arising out of the work practices of folks involved in trades that generated lead dust or lead vapors, like painters, metal workers, decorators etc.. At this point in time, lead was even used to “soften” wines and were called “vins sophistiques” (sophisticated wines). Work practices were indeed unreflective of the actual dangers of lead, such as wetting one’s brush with one’s saliva.

The author goes on to describe the symptoms of lead poising, for painters in particular. First, there is an acute pain in the stomach area, difficulty breathing, anxiety, and vomiting. As the disease progressed, the pain level would grow. I will spare the graphic descriptions given by the author. The picture I made part of this story depicts a victim of “painters’ colic” being hauled out of his house. Next to the front entrance were his ladder and cart.

Fortunately, times have changed. Knowledge and awareness have grown and lead poisoning of the intensity described in Mr. Watin’s book have all but disappeared. The work practices of the painting industry are now regulated by EPA lead rules known as RRP Rules. Contractors now have to be “Certified Lead Safe Firms” and the painters have to be certified as well. I am happy to say that Painting in Partnership, from the Chicago area, is a “Lead Safe Firm” and that several of its employees are certified as well.

We just completed the interior painting of 2 two condos at the Aqua building on Chicago’s lakefront. For many reasons, it was a real pleasure working on this project, one of which was being able to work in such beautiful, air-conditioned surroundings, while Chicago was going through a spell of 90-degree days!

Aqua Building on Chicago's Lakefront

One of the Condo's Many Views of Chicago

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a good client: “We just purchased two condos in Chicago. Please help us with color selection and the interior painting.” They purchased a 3-bedroom unit on the 69th floor and a 1-bedroom on the 73d floor. The condos’ floors are stained

Color Scheme for 73d Floor Condo

Color Scheme for 69th Floor Condo

a dark brownish/blackish color and the bedroom carpeting is a sandy color. The smaller unit is to be occupied by the grown son and the other by the parents and their guests.

In contrast to the traditional décor of their suburban residence, our clients wanted an “urban” look to their condos. This is where the paint color consultation came into the picture. After four hours of consultation with the owners and the son, two different color schemes were arrived at. The son’s painting of John Lennon inspired a “Retro” look for his color scheme, as shown in the picture, with chartreuse, gold and gray as some of his colors. The parent’s condo took on a more “Urban Chique” look, with a rich brown to match the leather couch, taupe tones and gray shades.

Painting in Partnership, a house painting contractor located in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, stands ready to meet the sophisticated needs of its clients in the both the color selection process and the impeccability of the craftsmanship of its interior painting.

Gold Leafing over Venetian Plaster

Gilding is an ancient decorative painting technique. Romans were particularly found of it during the time of Plinius Secundus, around 50 AD: even the ceilings of their temples were gilded. In the United States, gilding found a place in the decoration of the interior of public buildings, the exterior of capitol domes, statues and fine residential interiors. To this day, it continues to be a technique of choice for fine decorative finishing.

Gilding consists in the laying of an ultra fine sheet of metal over an adhesive sizer (tacky varnish). Once applied, the leaves are flattened and made to cover every little bit of the surface to be decorated. The portions of the leaves that are not attached to the sizer are then brushed off. The end result looks like a continuous sheet of metal. A telling sign that something has been gilded is that the square shape of the metal leaves used in the gilding process is still visible when the work is completed.

We just completed a most interesting decorative finishing project that involved the gilding of an artful design onto a venetian plaster surface that we had earlier decorated. A wide array of materials can be gilded: metal, glass, wood, drywall, stone and plasters. Although rarely done, venetian plaster is one of those surfaces, as shown in the attached picture.

Ink Sketch for Stencil

Lazer-Cut Stencil for Gilding

How did that project come about? The client wanted some artwork next to the shower area, but was concerned about the moisture affecting the art. I suggested gilding; they liked the idea. They showed me an etched leaf design on a lotion bottle which was on display on the vanity table. I asked our muralist to replicate that design as an ink drawing on a piece of paper, as shown in the next picture. I then asked our sign maker to digitize that same drawing, enlarge it to the desired size (24” wide and 36” high) and create a vinyl stencil. By the way, this is the same technique used in painting a sign, except that , in this case, the subject matter was a leaf design, not letters. Once the vinyl stencil was perfected mounted on the wall, we were ready to do the gilding process. Before removing the vinyl, we applied a coat of varnish over the metal leaf to protect it from oxidization.

This was a fun project for both the client, our decorative finishing people and our company. It is always a pleasure for the folks at Painting in Partnership, from the Chicago area, to combine the talents of many people in creating a result that is artful, creative and long lasting.

Lightning strikes and the need for paint restoration pretty much go hand in hand. A couple of weeks ago, we received this email from a client: “Call me. House took a direct lightning hit on Sunday. Fire on roof. Your faux finish is ruined.”

Lightning Strikes on Tip of the Roof

Fire Damage to Roof Beams

Lightning struck on the highest point of the house (as shown by the blue tarp) on a Sunday morning. The owners were unaware that the house had been hit. Fortunately for them, neighbors saw the lightning strike. Shortly thereafter, they noticed smoke coming out of the roof and called 911 immediately. The fire department rushed to the scene and extinguished the fire.

In spite of the neighbors’ vigilant eyes and the fire department’s quick response, the house suffered significant damage from fire, smoke and water. All things considered, the damage could have far greater if the response had not been so quick.

The restoration work will involve structural work to repair the roof beams, carpentry, new insulation, replacement of damaged drywall and paint restoration to a number of rooms affected by smoke and water, including about 1,000 square feet of a decorative painting finish in the foyer and halls. During the restoration process, the owners’ belongings will be in storage and they will be living in a rented house.

When lightning strikes, Painting in Partnership, from the Chicago area, stands ready to assist in all aspects of paint restoration, from the repainting of surfaces to the replication of existing finishes.