The Samson Residence in Beverly Hills CA,  was named the Robb Reports Ultimate Home 2012. ​ I happened to be working in this house on an unrelated project during the final phases of its construction when I was tapped by the contractor for a special project.they wanted a faux finish, hand picked by the owners, painted in the entry hall and grand stair and were having trouble finding the right person to do it.  It was a very tricky finish consisting of overlapping transparent glaze and a surgical strie brush technique. It also needed to be done yesterday. 

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DESIGN

 

The faux finish was developed by a brilliant painter and personal friend of mine Ryan Pollastro, a  protege of renowned painter Pierre Finkelstien.  The finish gave the walls the look of aged linen pulled tight over a frame. When it was completed, it proved to be a very believable illusion and most people did not think it was painted at all.



The biggest obstacle in implementing this finish were executing the perfect, unbroken strie brush strokes from floor to ceiling and side to side. To make matters worse each layer of strie had to be done in one flawless pass not allowing the glaze to dry.



INSTALLATION



To achieve these brush strokes on the 18 ft walls I needed to assemble a dream team of some of L.A.s finest faux painters.  With probably 40 years of combined experience we were able to masterfully preform the strie technique without a single error.  We achieved this by carefully planning the choreography of our fast paced movements and timing.  



​When I say without a single error I'm speaking quite literally  I have inspected every square inch of these walls and they are completely flawless.  Mr. Samson had excellent eyesight and would except nothing less. 

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 Also notice that the surface of the wall is not flat. It is scalloped or fluted like very shallow waves.  Its made from hand cast architectural plaster custom designed by Foster Reeve and Associates. The only tools used were a collection of exceptional camel hair brushes from The Pierre Finkelstien Institute. 

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