The bathtub that made the NY Times.
How one act of kindness launched a national decorative-painting career: NY Times, six House Beautiful features, Woman's Day spreads, and a showcase-house award.
“Right out of art school, my friend called and said she needed to talk because her husband had left her with two small children to raise.”
Kathleen went to her house, sat on the bathroom floor, and painted flowers and birds across the ball-and-claw bathtub while her friend talked and cried. They shared tea, and Kathleen dipped her paintbrush in the teacup more than once. The painting took weeks, and it cheered her friend up.
Without telling her, the friend sent a photograph of the tub to the “NY Times,” where it ran in Enid Nemy’s “Discoveries” column. It launched Kathleen’s career: calls came from all over the country, and magazines began commissioning new projects for feature stories.
Spreads, covers & painted rooms.
Six-page spreads in “Woman’s Day,” a three-page feature in “Paint Decor,” “Entertainment” magazine, and the commissioned “his & hers” trompe l’oeil bookcase painted for the editor of Woman’s Day Specials.
The painted-room portfolio.
From the magazine years, the kind of work available again today, by commission:
- • Faux glass door with painted shelves
- • Faux carpet painted on a dining-room floor
- • A fantasy bicycle tour of France in a powder room
- • Faux garden room with lattice & garden scenes
- • Faux marquetry on a foyer floor
- • Faux fireplace with Delft tile in a child’s room
- • Panorama garden view in a hallway
- • Trompe l’oeil “his & hers” bookcase on closet doors
Designers: this repertoire is available for your projects.
See the trade page, or start a conversation