When this shop first opened I approached the owner and offered to paint her sign.
The concept: Art Nouveau tiled lettering and border on Walnut panel with Macassar Ebony frame.
I imagined the sign had been rescued from a junk shop in New York city. Perhaps forgotten for nearly a century in some attic…
The tiles are crazed, cracked and broken as if exposed to many years of East Coast weather extremes.
The owner asked that her font be used, otherwise I would have gone with something from the era of inspiration. While creative control is crucial (the point is to get your voice into the world), it’s okay to allow some input from clients, as long as it doesn’t decimate your concept.
The Faux Walnut panel was split into four sections, as a carpenter might. The Walnut was painted with plenty of contrast so as to show well from the street.
For the daffodil tile border, four stencils were created and reversed or mirrored for variety and balance. For models I focused on the work of French artist Pierre-Joseph Redouté. I also studied Art Nouveau tile design extensively.
This is a totally flat panel. All carved, broken, rounded and cracked features are Trompe-l’œil.
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