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Greetings!
There have been many intriguing challenges in my career, but this recent project will hover near the top for a long time. My clients had been inspired by a trip to the Loire Valley and were entranced by the wine caves they visited. Wine caves are defined as subterranean structures for the storage and aging of wine.
I've seen and done murals for many wine cellars over the years but I have to admit that even before I saw the site, the owner's request to capture the feel of a 16th century wine cave had me hooked. So walk with me as we tour this fantastic space.
Opening the door from the main floor of the home, we descend to the cave.
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It takes your breath away, doesn't it?
If you turned around, you would see the original door at the top of the stairs
Hardly keeping with the intended atmosphere, I painted a door which matches the doors built for the cave. Here's a picture of what I painted.
 | | Here's a closer look |
I painted stone to match the walls on the top portion of the skin, trimming the door size to about 6 ½ feet. Adjusting the scale made the painted door more believable. I aged the existing door frame with several layers of chalk paint, finishing with softly rubbed wax to add patina.
Here are a few more pictures as you reach the bottom of the stairs, passing small niches filled with iron lanterns. A few more steps (keep you head down...it's only about 7 feet in height here, we step into the main cavern of the cave. Check out the real doors that I used as a model for the door I painted . Kudos, here, to architect William Shaffer of Westport, CT, who designed and constructed this project.
So, now we come to my main contribution. Here's a before picture of the refrigerated section of the wine cave before the glass doors were installed.
And without further ado, the completed mural installed.
 | | Photo by Thomas Tiberi - Click to see larger |
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I was able to "light" my mural by painting the area where one of the spotlights would hit the surface if the illusion had been real.
The mural is modest in size, measuring 39" in height and 48" in width, but the effect is huge. Look closely, and see that I have included one of the actual doors as well as the magnificent torch fixtures, a few of the many exquisite design elements chosen by Patrick Briel of Lillian August.
I was most appreciative to have been a part of this project. I truly hope it makes you wonder how I could add my painted illusions to your home.
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