Sliding Doors

Faux finish + abstract painting 

= a door like no other!

For this painting commission, I was asked to paint an abstract scene onto the sliding barn door to my client's home office.

This home sits on a hilltop in Del Mar, with ocean views out of every room. This room's walls are all windows, so the only way to bring any art into the room was to paint it directly onto the door.

One of the views from this room features the old Del Mar power plant, which has special significance for this client who grew up in the area. So for my painted door, we decided to create an abstract impression of the power plant scene.

First I worked up a few sample boards to show the texture and colors I had in mind. 

The door itself was a 5' x 7.5' barn door to be mounted on wheels that will glide along a steel bar set above the doorway. It was already primed and ready for me to paint.

I mixed plaster with pigment and house paint to create the base texture. I applied it in vertical bands to accentuate the door's wooden boards. 

Next I layered on the neutral foundation colors, and then added the blue of the ocean. 

The brown section on the right was faux painted to match the rust coloring of the steel bar above the doorway and the fireplace mantel (not shown) which is made from a rusted I-beam.

The scene of the power plant on shore is loosely indicated with simple shapes of the smoke stack, buildings, and palm trees, with their hazy reflections in the water. 

Now every wall in this spectacular room has a vista of its own, and we got some art into the room as well.

The final photo of this door in the finished space is coming soon! 

Keep stopping by; I will post all the final shots of my recent projects in one Big Finale post!

For now, it's back to the studio...