So What's With All the Color and Sloppy Paint?

Cherry Cabinetry in the Master Bath, L.W..Roth, designer

Because I used to be a designer, and now I'm just hanging loose.

I prefer to paint loosely,  because I spent a a couple of decades doing accurate concept/construction drawings  of interior architectural cabinetry without much color.  The following two concept drawings were sold, but the others were not. The cost of the built-in furnishings exceeded the clients' budget.  That was not unusual in our business. People's wish lists often exceeded their pocketbooks. Design fees were imperative.

 An elevation for storage cabinetry to be installed in a living room.
To respect the client's budget,it's made of white oak, primed and painted.Williamsburg White.
It has  five inch double crown moulding, dental moulding  nine flutes, a fluted facia, nine rosette blocks, 6" baseboard/OG edge flat panel doors with bead trim, pewter knobs, black glass door panels, halogen interior lighting,
TV face frame,audio/visual storage drawers. Interior adjustable shelves.3/8 th" glass shelves in the bookcase, each with a plate rout. It sold for $20,000.00 in 1999. It can be adjusted to accommodate a flat screen television.

Crafted and installed; it was primed at the shop and painted on site to match the rest
of the mouldings in the house.

The tallest fireplace I ever designed was sixteen feet tall.
The paneling consisted of 20 marble slabs inset in   cherry,
 raised panel mouldings. I would have liked a bigger firebox, but
space was limited. The fireplace was flanked by tall windows
that looked out on a river. I would have liked the client to okay a blue-of-the-river
granite slab, but she was a beige person-- and blue granite at that time sold for
$25.00 a square foot.  There's more to these pretty drawings than meets the eye.

The 16' - 0" Fireplace installed on the St. Clair River.
Sorry the photo is blurry. I was half photographer that day,
half lighting consultant.

A computer/dresser in the Memphis Style for a child's room. Parents loved
it,couldn't afford it. It was a tricky design to make.

A Headboard for a teenager's room also a bit Memphis. I mostly used Rapiograph   cartridge  pens,
markers and colored pencil for these type drawings--mostly my pens. It was extremely important to
store them standing upright or the points would clog.

This is the sitting room side of a banquet I designed for a kitchen I designed.
It would have been  made of cherry. The style was raised panel/bead.  Stools would be added so the kids could do their homework here. The client bought the designs, but it was never built.

This secretary never got made, so I never inked it. I sure could stroke it though
by the time I finished the drawing.  That was the joy . Knowing you had just created
something that could be made and could give someone a lot of pleasure.  I don't have that feeling with my
paintings yet because I really haven't put in enough effort. I'm still a bit sad, this part of life ended.

No wood on this 6'-0" x 4'-0" marble coffee table. The top drawing shows the underside;
the middle is the table in Plan; the bottom drawing is a perspective. It took six men to
move this baby into place. I imagine it's still where they set it down.

This was a garage conversion to expand the space of the lower level.
Another garage with two bedrooms, two baths and a laundry room
were added to the other side of the house.  This was the best job ever.

Well I've had a good time this morning John  (Gatepost Pictures), thanks to you. Looking back on that work, I felt a lot of pride. So strokable.  All of these  design drawings  came from drawings like this last one. It's a floor plan for a lower level remodel. The brown colored items indicate architectural cabinetry that had to be designed, specked, priced and approved. It all was.

When the real estate market went to hell, so did a lot of design, trade and construction jobs--as well as furniture dealerships and manufacturers. Sitting on the bench waiting to get into the game again, I turned to painting and blogging. I paint loosely, because I designed tight. If I drew it, it would fit together in the space allotted. Take away a part, the whole design didn't work. Joinery is everything like good composition is in painting. Using very little color those years, naturally I like a lot of it now.

The smallest fireplace I ever designed.  But it's mine and it's
the pencil drawings of my grandkids and one son as a boy
were drawn and framed to add to the width. I couldn't make the
fireplace wider. I was stopped by the windows are either side.
And that's how I got back to fine art drawing again.