Norman Petersen

I fell in love with decorative painting back in the early 90's and since then I've learned and applied dozens of “faux” finishes (sounds like 'go', not 'fox'. Silent X) including marble, tile, semiprecious stone, authentic Venetian plaster, stenciling, sponge and rag effects and of course, wood grain faux finishes.

In the beginning...

As a child I was enthralled by all things creative. One of my earliest creative passions was movie monster make-up. I had a make-up kit and my friends and I would make 8mm films including special effects and gory death scenes.

My first art hero was the silent film actor and make-up master mind, Lon Chaney. My mom got me posters and books of his work and I spent many hours practicing and torturing friends and family with monster make-up.

Pretty sure if I'd grown up in LA I'd have been a professional make-up guy. Oh well. Fate does its thing.

As a teenager I worked with my Dad doing home remodel. I credit my father with giving me a solid basis in working with tools and a general willingness to tinker, repair and build stuff.

I later worked with my brother building high-end, custom homes. That led to working with an old master painter on some big, expensive houses in Mercer Island, WA (Bill Gates neighborhood, btw). This master showed me a lot of "secrets" of the trade that made the job as fun as such work can possibly be. I took to brush work like a fish to water.

One day I stumbled onto a book by Jocasta Innes called "Paint Magic". I was completely, instantly enthralled. I bought it and didn't put it down for weeks. I started painting samples and experimenting like crazy.

I suffered severe lower back problems from my mid twenties through mid 30's which kept me away from ladders and scaffolding to some extent. Still, I've been fortunate to learn and apply some great finishes on some very cool projects.

Soaring. Falling. Getting back up

I've painted for captains of industry, state senators, an Olympic medalist, countless businesses and homeowners, family, friends and girlfriends. I've done Street of Dreams projects, design showrooms, corporate boardrooms and public spaces.

The back issues led to becoming more interested in mural work. Of course I realized right away that while mural work pays better than general faux finishes, it's still really hard on the body. So the next logic