One day my husband recalled that somewhere in his mass of 500+ paintings and prints in mega sizes, there might be one related to Colonial Williamsburg that would interest me.
No way! How in the world did Mr. MidCentury Modern acquire an 18th century print?
Well…he found it and brought it to me.
Reluctantly, I told him I did not like the framing or matting, because they made the picture look old, drab, dreary, and completely boring…a sad testament to the artist.
Laughing, he told me to reframe it however I wished, so he carried the heavy print it into my favorite framing shop…Hobby Lobby!
While waiting our turn, I perused the framing and matting samples.
Happily, I easily made my choices, laying them next to the print.
However, the staff endeavored to convince me to settle for plain and boring…pretty much identical to that which I wanted to replace.
Persistently, I kept to my vision, explaining that dark and light needed to be introduced to the print, instead of medium tones which feature prominently within the print.
Without further ado, they took my requests and in a few weeks I received a call that the order was ready.
When they brought out the newly framed print, everyone gathered round to ooh and aah!
Yes, the new choices in framing and matting breathed life into this lovely print by one of Virginia’s beloved regional artists, Don Cannavaro.
DON CANNAVARO – ESTEEMED VIRGINIA ARTIST
Sadly, this great artist passed away in 2015. From his obituary:
After high school, he worked as a musician until he enlisted in the Army in March 1941. Originally an Artilleryman, he was selected to become a pilot in the Army Air Corps. He flew the P-38 and later became a B-24 pilot with the 8th Air Force, 453rd Bomb Group. Based from Great Britain, Don flew 32 combat missions over Germany and occupied France. After the war Don studied fine arts at Parsons in New York, the Sorbonne in Paris, and Colombia Pacific University. Don spent the majority of his life in Alexandria, VA where he worked as an independent artist and Art Director for the Department of the Air Force at the Pentagon. In retirement, he opened Cannavaro Fine Arts where he created his own pen and ink Americana Collection depicting many of the nation’s greatest buildings and memorials.
MY OFFICE ALA LAFAYETTE IN COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG
Hanging this at the entry to my office, I decided to decorate the room as Colonial Williamsburg style ala Marquis de Lafayette…to remind me of my former family room.
Thus, I decided to let the Colonial Williamsburg pop with color amidst a traditional black toile French theme in honor of Lafayette.
Laying out most of my work across the day bed and/or the floor, I comfortably utilized the space so that I could greatly spread out my thoughts while organizing paperwork for the house.
Furthermore, it is such a cozy spot with perfect lighting to think through my writing projects.
For the small space, I bought this cute little desk that resembles a escritoire, originally small portable desk with drawers, to which legs were added by the 17th century.
Except this room double as a guest room, which often prevents me from efficiently organizing…where I need room to spread out.
On the wall above my desk, I planned for my new Caesar Monturano prints, another esteemed Virginia artist.
CAESAR MONTURANO – ESTEEMED ARTIST OF VIRGINIA
To that end I began acquiring another set of Colonial Williamsburg prints by a different artist from Virginia, Caesar Monturano.
From his website:
Caesar Monturano, originally from Philadelphia, has lived and worked in Williamsburg, Virginia since 1985. At his studio in Williamsburg he paints a broad variety of subjects, concentrating primarily on American landscape and architectural studies. His deep interest in history has led to many paintings of historic landmarks throughout the United States and Europe. He has painted commissions for the National Archives, The Kennedy Center, Christ Church, Alexandria, VA and for many private collectors. He has done many paintings of Colonial Williamsburg and, since 1986, the Foundation has featured an extensive line of his prints of Colonial Williamsburg…His line of prints of Washington, D.C. were featured for many years, at the National Archives and many of the major historical sites in the capital city…Essentially a representational painter, Mr. Monturano adheres to traditional aesthetic values in his work. However, each piece is developed from a subjective premise, using nature as a starting point in developing a unique interpretation. His paintings, especially his pastels, are noted for their spontaneous, yet sensitive use of broken color, creating an ethereal, impressionistic effect. This kind of image allows the viewer to use his imagination and join in the creative process with the artist. Using a highly sophisticated palette, derived from Spanish influences, he achieves rich color effects through the skillful application of mostly muted colors.
MEETING CAESAR MONTURANO
My kids and I had befriended him at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center, where he often displayed his beautiful works.
On our million and one wonderful visits to the historic area in 18th century attire, he quickly came to recognize my kids, often chatting with us.
As a result, I purchased a set of his prints which we happily displayed in the Lafayette Room of our house, so dubbed because the paint color, which my daughter found, was called: Lafayette...which inspired naming each of the rooms after great patriots.
Thus, I filled that room with lovely momentos from Colonial Williamsburg, like a silver urn won at a Colonial Williamsburg historic auction in market square at reduced cost.
Sadly, those items are no longer mine.
Since Mr. Monturano’s prints would be perfect for my office, I collected my new set of prints.
Then I had problems with creating wall mounts, etc…during a typical busy season in my life of helping my kids with their kids, watching grandbaby’s grow, this old house repairs, etc.
Thinking it would be easy for me to frame and mat myself, I went to Hobby Lobby where I found the perfect frame and mat…but it took forever to accumulate enough of each for all the prints.
NEW ART PLAN FOR MAIN FLOOR OF OUR TOWNHOUSE
A few months ago, my husband firmly decided he was DONE with his I love me wall of his military memories on the main floor section at the foot of the stairs.
I had insisted upon that a year before, because I’m so proud of his military service to our country in the Navy.
Within his display case presented him at retirement are his ribbons, medals, ropes…and epaulettes! {swoon}
My dear readers know how much I like epaulettes! I used to enjoy looking at the regalia with fascination. Oh, well.
While discussing what to do with that space, I remembered my forlorn Colonial Williamsburg prints which still had no home in my office.
Showing them to my husband he insisted I do my framing and matting gig at Hobby Lobby again, so I did.
While my hubby was out of town in December to take care of his mom in California, I received a phone call from Hobby Lobby that my prints were ready.
On the backs of these frames, the history of each of the buildings and name of the art and artist (that came with the prints) were wonderfully preserved in protective, accessible pockets.
When my hubby came home, he liked the new prints in the space so much, that he suggested we move the Bruton Parish print from my office to join it on the neighboring wall.
For more photos of our townhouse remodel, check my Flickr set.
