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Fine Decorative Painter  Tell us about yourself and what you do. I have lived in Maine since 1980 and have been a full-time artist since 1982. Since moving to Maine, my husband and I have restored two antique Capes, raised four Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs, run several marathons and have lived aboard and cruised the east coast of the United States on our 43' ketch. As a full-time artist, I create hand-painted fireboards, theorem paintings and wall hangings. I also paint (shippable) stair-riser murals, wall murals, floors, kitchen cabinet doors and furniture. I recently wrote and illustrated a children's book depicting my primitive and whimsical style of art born from nineteen years of creating unique and original designs. How did you get started? My mother-in-law was proficient in the early American decorative arts and began teaching me many of these techniques when I first met my husband in 1968. Our business grew out of our love of "old" and our passion for traditional tastes and the success we had in restoring our own homes. After offering reproduction wall stenciling services in 1982, it wasn't long before we needed to include plaster wall repair and interior painting services in order to execute the wall decoration. Floor painting, faux-graining and wall mural services soon followed. In 1986 we began a project that would fulfill us for the next 14 years....we flaked a 1780 Cape and reconstructed it on 100 acres of riverfront property. By 1988 the house was showcased in Early American Life magazine and by1989 we re-focused our business to offer appropriate accessories for traditionally-restored rooms. We attended our first wholesale show in 1989 and introduced a line of hand-painted fireboards and theorem paintings. Over the last nineteen years we have attended hundreds of folk art shows up and down the east coast and our house and artwok have been showcased in many national publications including Country Living, Architectural Digest, Colonial Homes, Down East Magazine (cover) as well as in many catalogs such as LL Bean, Neiman Marcus and Colonial Williamsburg. How does your work differ from other artists? Having been in the business for twenty-six years, we are seeing it come full circle. The primary focus of our business today is, once more, interior decorative painting. We offer hand-painted, custom, stair-riser murals on shippable panels as well as wall murals. We have combined my husband's faux-graining techniques with my murals to offer unique, custom-painted kitchen cabinet doors. Our stair-riser panels and decorated cabinet doors allow us to work with clients from anywhere in the country through the mail. We have always adjusted our business to meet the needs and tastes of the times and we will continue to do so. I believe a few important things set us apart from other artists and have helped make our business successful for many years. We establish a one-on-one, personal relationship with all our clients whether they are purchasing a fireboard, a theorem painting or having a mural designed. We have always highlighted "customizing" our work so that each piece is unique from any other whether we incorporate a client's house into a specific scene, include their dog, match colors to fabric swatches, alter the size or add some other personally-meaningful element. We set a shipping/completion date when we take an order and have always met that committment. We also price our work up-front which our clients really appreciate. In addition to our fair prices, our sense of color also seems to set our work apart. Lastly, I really love what I do and have no problem sharing my enthusiasm with my customers. Where can your work be purchased? Although we are not attending as many shows as we used to, we can still be found at a few shows throughout New England. Most purchases are made through our website. Please visit www.hopeangier.com to see our Fireboard Gallery, Theorem Gallery, samples of our "shippable" stair-riser murals as well as information on ordering my new children's book, HARMONY: LAND OF THE FOUR SEASONS. |