The drive to embellish and beautify our surroundings is a human motivation that bridges both culture and time. From vases to vaulted ceilings, across the globe we captivate ourselves with ornament, decorating the objects that we create, the homes we live in and the spaces in which we work and worship. Examples of decorative painting can be found from the earliest moments of man’s existence and have evolved throughout history in synchronicity with our life styles; expressing our tastes, our status, our standards and values. However, beyond taste, style and the general human desire to beautify, what are the practical uses and reasons for applying layers of texture, pattern, color and sheen upon the “bare bones” of form? Are there practical uses for “gilding the lily”? This is one of the many questions I will be addressing in this paper.
Demystifying Decorative Finishing or… Why Gild the Lily? Available to Purchase
Robin Roi
Robin Roi has been Director of Decorative Painting at EverGreene Painting Studios for more than twenty years. She first came to EverGreene after a successful career in New York City as a fine artist. She exhibited her work widely and was represented in New York by the Barbara Gladstone Gallery. Previously, she had earned her Batchelor’s degree in Fine Art from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Masters Degree in Painting from Claremont Graduate School in California.
Robin worked for several years painting for EverGreene on east coast projects, gradually taking on more responsibility by managing projects. When she became pregnant with her first child and could no longer climb scaffolding, Jeff Greene, the owner, asked her to meet with clients, design and bid on projects, and generally become more involved in managing the decorative department. EverGreene has several specialized departments: murals, wallpaper, plaster mold making and installation, restoration and decorative painting. Robin claims that pattern, design and texture have always been her passions so the decorative department was a great fit. Since then, she has worked on EverGreene’s projects worldwide, from traditional marbleizing at the U.S. Capitol building, to inventing custom finishes and designs for tropical casinos, high-end hotels, restaurants and large residences. A few years ago when EverGreene expanded by starting a hand painted wallpaper division, she was able to contribute her design skills by creating unique custom finishes on paper. Since then, Studio E, as the wallpaper division is called, has become highly successful, with showrooms across the United States.
Robin has been consultant to almost every major interior designer in the metropolitan NY area, offering her expertise on color, pattern, texture and design. Over the years, she has gained a great degree of mastery of the materials and techniques of the decorative painting field. She is very excited to have the opportunity of sharing this with a wider audience, not only through the PACE conference but earlier this year, she was hired as the Technical Consultant for a new book by Benjamin Moore on decorative painting called “Paint Style” that just came out in Bookstores.
