Poetry in Motion
Written by Anush J. Benliyan | Photography by Steve Ouimet
If you have had the pleasure of stumbling upon the serene, lyrical work of Maria Trimbell—be it in the pages of Santa Barbara Living (Rizzoli New York), in a café in Spain, or inside a perfectly appointed Michael Smith-designed home—there is no doubt that you have been entranced by the Ventura-born artist’s hand-painted atmospheric murals.
“I discovered decorative painting serendipitously after searching for a good fit for my artistic skills, my obsession with European art and architecture, and my desire to do something with my hands out in the world rather than sitting at a desk or easel all day,” says Trimbell, who recently moved to Los Osos with her husband, art reproduction expert Steve Ouimet.
Calling upon such age-old influences as Italian frescoes, Japanese screens, chinoiserie, verdure tapestries, and bygone French artists like Monet, Matisse, and landscape painting pioneer Claude Lorrain, Trimbell—with the help of Ouimet—begins each custom scenic mural as a loose sketch directly on site or on a wall-sized canvas. She then builds upon her chalk or watery paint base using high-quality lime paints like Color Atelier, golden acrylics, and chalky paints like Farrow & Ball, adding depth and intricate details for a “misty, layered effect,” she explains. (For works on plaster, they mix their own paints.) The resulting frescoes—which take anywhere from two weeks to two months to complete—depict romantic scenes of nature that immerse the viewer into Trimbell’s poetic world.
In addition to painted-to-order murals, Trimbell and Ouimet are now offering a new accessible line of custom-printed wallpaper murals that are hand-painted, photographed, then printed on large-format archival canvas to be installed by a paperhanger. “Our clients are creative and sophisticated,” Trimbell says, “and, above all, they appreciate living with art and beauty.” mariatrimbell.com.
Top to bottom: Artist Maria Trimbell paints grisaille trees for her Lorrain mural inspired by the work of Claude Lorrain; a sitting room features a fantasy trompe l’oeil balustrade, trees, and landscape; a detail of Trimbell's Livia mural at her studio.
