Frank Janca Modern Day Master

I have a tango student that turned out to be someone from my past. How crazy to meet someone 40 years later in a different city, as a grown-up, and finding out we went to the same art schools. In the tango world, first names suffice. And the dance is really what it's all about. So it takes awhile to find out what people "do".

Frank Janca paints en plein air - En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air," and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors - I love this painting of a lavender field

Alberto had mentioned to me that Frank is an artist. I filed it away in the back of my brain, and finally after months of small talk in our classes or at social dances, I began to connect the dots. I asked Frank his last name so I could look him up. It took me a few weeks. I like him so much that I didn't want to know that if he was an artist, was he any good. Not that it would change my regard for him, but you want the people you like to be good at what they say they do.

Another lavender field in France by Frank Janca

I finally went to Frank's web site. We both studied at The Art Students League in New York. This is an art school that trains students in old master techniques. It's about figure drawing, anatomy and perspective classes, copying old master paintings, etc. It was not a place that one went to, if you were gunning to be an abstract expressionist which was all the rage when Frank and I were young art students. The curriculum was hard, and the teachers were serious.

Frank uses the technique of under painting a grayscale and then adding color on top of it - a technique from the 17th century

from Frank's web site: 

"Frank Janca. is a modern—day master in the truest sense. His impressionist canvases display an emulation of the Baroque and Renaissance Masters married with a refined individual style. Janca insists on personal involvement in every aspect of his paintings. Dissatisfied with the quality of paints commercially available to artists, he grinds his pigment by hand and cooks his own oil mediums, similar to the manner of medieval alchemists. His carefully prepared linen canvases are frequently underpainted in grisaille, a centuries-old technique of painting the forms in grayscale before color is used. Janca then paints the final image with rich, jeweled colors. The results of these efforts are luxurious colors now rare in contemporary work and paintings which will remain in the finest condition for generations to come. The length of a typical painting day for Janca is about 14 hours. Such perseverance has brought Janca’s work to a level reflecting the insight and maturity of a master painter who is recognized as such in the United States and abroad."

Plein air painting by Frank Janca

Frank does it all. Plein air landscapes and street scenes painted in France (and all over the world). He also does beautiful still life and portrait paintings. He is originally from Biloxi, Mississippi, and after several years in New York, he returned. Frank works with many interior decorators and designers in the Biloxi area, whose clients are thrilled to have his paintings in their homes.

Frank Janca  uses luxurious colors now rare in contemporary work - His paintings will remain in the finest condition for generations to come

Frank has many beautiful still life paintings in his portfoilo

I love the street life he captures in Paris - This is the Marche du Poulet

Frank Janca did this painting of a boulangerie in Paris

This is one of my favorite Parisian street scenes done by Frank Janca - a misty morning in Saint-Germain-des-Pres

This lovely portrait was done by Frank Janca when he was at The Art Students League in New York

If you don't have the budget for an original you can get a print of Frank Janca's paintings at prints.com

Frank Janca has an exhibition coming up in Biloxi at Ohr-O'Keefe Musuem of Art If you are in the area, stop in and say hello while you get to experience his incredible work in person, and tell him the Vamp sends you - or maybe you should say his tango teacher sends you.

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The Dining Room Reveal - Part 3 - A New Orleans Traditional Home Is Updated

If you have been following me along on this project, you know I have been updating a house in New Orleans HERE and HERE.

You've seen the two "parlors", and the third room in this shotgun floor plan is the dining room, which I am showing you today.

The dining room the day I came for my first interview September 2010

As before, the owner had a lovely collection of beautiful French and English antiques. She had done up the house ten years ago, and was ready for an update.

Chippendale chairs, with quilted slipcovers had to go
I wanted to keep the table

She gave me leeway to change the furnishings. I could "toss" it all. The wall color and floors had to remain.

I wanted to keep as much as possible, and add a mix of vintage and modern pieces, a mix I am adept at using.

The lamps were remodeled for the living room
The mirror and sideboard stayed, and the art was moved around
You can see in the reflection in the mirror the old balloon shade
It was changed to a clean tailored apricot silk Roman shade

The one huge issue in the dining room, was an off center crystal chandelier, an antique original to the house. We moved it to the living room.

The heavy Chippendale style chairs could have been painted a bright color, but I really felt that was drastic and would greatly detract from their value. They had quilted fabric slip covers that jut looked too gloomy. So the first thing we decided to change were the dining room chairs. The client loves Kartell so we started there.

Chair tryouts
The sea grass rug stayed - it plays back to the same one in the living room
Continuity in a shotgun house floor plan is imperative

We tried the Louis Ghost chair, The Victoria model first. The husband had a good laugh and wanted to know what doll house furniture was doing in his dining room. I had a good laugh too, and though the chair was a good starting point, I knew we could do better. Plus I like to keep the husbands happy too.

Set of vintage Milo Baughman chairs were the final chair choice
The chandelier was moved to the living room

I found a set of vintage Milo Baughman chairs. We had been playing with mixing metals, and the chrome just seemed right. And the chairs are very substantial and comfortable, so the husband loved them.

Originally I wanted to keep the antique dining table. The client proposed something modern, but everything we considered just didn't feel right. Then I saw a table in Elle Decor HERE, and it was major LOVE.

I wanted the antique table to stay until I found this one!
It was major LOVE for the client too
The zinc metal top with the bleached root base
is a perfect sculptuaral one-of a kind piece

I chose a Kelly Wearstler fabric to recover the Baughman chairs. It is so rich in look and feel, and has a bit of a throwback to the era the chairs came from. The color wove a story with the rug in the middle parlor, and with the apricot silk drapes.

Chairs at Leonels upholsterer with the new Kelly Weartsler fabric

The reupholstered chairs arrive!

Kelly Wearstler for Lee Jofa - Sora Velvet

The client saw a large antler on my dining table at home, and loved it, and we got a pair for her table to try out. Other accessories include a pair of vintage Murano lamps on the sideboard, and a portrait painted by Louis St. Lewis was added to the client's formidable art collection. We kept the antique sideboard, and trumeau.

Dining Room decor/styling by Valorie Hart

We also kept the impressive French armoire, and took all the leaves out of the dining table and used it as an accent table in the corner. A pair of Biedermeir style chairs got new seats, covered in a beautiful purple cut velvet to play off the Murano lamps.

The antique armoire stayed - it is gorgeous!
The dining table with the leaves removed is now an accent table

Issac Mizrahi for S. Harris, cut silk velvet on linen

I found a pair of antique metal sconces that actually felt quite modern, a good addition to the mix we had going on.

One of two antique metal sconces installed in the dining room

Then the key to solving the issue of the asymmetrical room proportions was delivered! We wanted to keep the ceiling medallion that the old chandelier hung under, and not do any serious rewiring for perhaps two chandeliers over the table.

Serge Mouille to the rescue!!!! With the client's love for Mid Century modern and my love for the mix, this was the only possible beautiful solution.

This odd looking package solved a major problem!

Frank, our electrician had never seen the lighting fixture before. I told him it was hand made for us in France, that a vintage one goes for around $35K. He was not amused, because he didn't know how to hang it. He talked about ripping out the ceiling medallion, and building a new electrical box, repainting the ceiling, etc. The client said absolutely not!

I bow down to Frank!!!

Visual Vamp to the rescue! It's not for nothing that I have been married to an electrical engineer for 16 years! So I talked Frank down from his chagrin, and gently suggested this in that, and voila! Frank installed the Mouille in record time. I love him. He crawled under the house to the sconces, and now this.

So take a peek into the dining room with the new lighting fixture... Also notice how the chairs, the Murano lamps, the art, all play back to the rug in the middle room, my color inspiration for all of the furnishings.

The lovely Oushak was the color inspiration

Mouille lighting fixture in the dining room

Interior decor/design/styling by Valorie Hart

Interior design Valorie Hart

The family (and their friends) are just loving all the updates and changes. I love coming into these rooms every time I have something to do in this house.

I have had a great time orchestrating this fabulous mix.

Next time, I have a sweet bar area to show you, and some upstairs bedrooms I have been working on.

Sources:

Milo Baughman chairs from David Katz 504 458-1196

Murano lamps, all fabrics, antlers, white bowl with chain detail on sideboard
from perch. 504 899-2122

Serge Mouille lighting fixture from Design Within Reach New Orleans 504.891.652

At Home In Colette's Apartment

The acclaimed French designer Jacques Grange was destined to possess his Paris apartment, once home to the novelist Colette. After Colette died in 1954, her floor-through overlooking the lush gardens of the Palais Royal remained in the family until 1990, when Colette’s stepdaughter offered it to Grange. What a lucky SOB!!! “The architecture is very classical 18th century—exactly matching the Palais Royal garden outside—but the furniture, lighting and decorative objects are a mix of pure Art Déco, contemporary and 18th century,” Jacques Grange says of the residence he designed for himself in Paris. In the living room are a pair of 1925 club chairs by Francis Jourdain.
Colette's apartment, has a small salon, where an 18th-century mahogany table coexists with a 1930s bronze console by Jean-Michel Frank. Hiroshi Sugimoto’s 1991 photograph The Black Sea hangs over a 1970 work by Donald Judd. At right is a 1950 ebony sculpture by Alexandre Noll. The light fixture is by Ron Arad.
A Cubist-style glazed ceiling he designed illuminates the dining room, which has the feel of a “winter garden.” The circa 1900 lantern is by Greene & Greene. Rubelli dining chair fabric.
Grange enveloped the library in modern oak paneling and installed light fixtures Damien Hirst designed for the Pharmacy restaurant in London. Three photographs by Man Ray, at left, hang below a 1927 triptych by Christian B’rard.
Woven horsehair covers the walls of the bedroom, which has a “Neoclassical” sensibility, the designer explains. The lamp at left is by Jean-Michel Frank; at right is a lamp by Alberto Giacometti.
Grange has been buying art for over 40 years. “I bought a Toulouse-Lautrec when I was 18,” he says. He has always haunted galleries and museums. He looks like a happy guy, as well he should be!

Mid Century Modern in NOLA by Guest Blogger Laura Casey

Laura Casey who has the blog Laura Casey Interiors left a link to the following post for us on the comments HERE. I liked it so much, I thought I'd reprint it for all of you...enjoy!

Mid-Century Modern in NOLA

by laura on February 19, 2009

This mid-century modern house once stood in the beautiful neighborhood of Metairie (New Orleans, LA). It was built in 1950 by Johnny M. Gabriel, an architect from Lake Charles, LA. The ranch style house with its low slung roof and different sized limestones on the exterior was one of the first houses built on Woodvine Avenue. The entire house was furnished with original pieces from the Chicago Merchandise Mart by contemporary furniture designers such as Herman Miller and Charles & Ray Eames. The floor plan, materials used, and furnishings were all quite modern for the time.

Using the exterior limestone on the inside was a way of bringing the outside in, originally one of the priniciples of Frank Lloyd Wright’s organic architecture. You can see on the right how there are three sizes used which makes for interesting patterns. A variety of natural materials were used in the construction of the home. The slate which was used in the front hall, living room and dining room was brought to the house from North Carolina. I love the original front door with the windows centered on the mullions.

The house had a very contemporary floor plan for the time. The public spaces- the Living Room, the Dining Room and the front hall all were in the center of the house. The private spaces included a wing with the bedrooms to one side and the kitchen, a playroom and back entrance to the carport were on the other side. The ability to go from the kitchen to the bedrooms without having to go through the public space was somewhat of a new concept. The frosted glass wall and connecting partition to the left also allowed for greater privacy in the Living Room. Only some of the original furniture is here. The house was featured in a local magazine on August 27, 1950 and the article says “Mrs. Davis and her decorator chose an ebony coffee table and ebony Eames chairs with a plush red sofa for accent.” Sounds extremely hip, note the Noguchi coffee table which is a classic today.

The original table, chairs and sideboard. My mother-in-law is the left portrait.

The division between the LR and DR also had a fireplace. Mr. and Mrs. Davis wanted a division of space, an open feeling and a fireplace. The architect solved it by centering the house around the fireplace, also a concept that stems from Frank Lloyd Wright.

Originally the play room, this room had cork flooring as did one of the girls bedrooms. A sustainable and durable material, cork is used today and considered to be eco-friendly. Gabriel was ahead of his time.

Cork flooring and built-ins in one of the girls bedrooms.

One of very few houses in NOLA to have an O’Keefe and Merritt gas stove. When the hurricanes would hit and the electricity was out everyone wanted to come over to boil water. The stove is currently at one of the sister’s houses in FL. It is a vintage treasure.

The frosted glass was also used in the kitchen as an interior window. Behind the window was the playroom. By sliding the center bottom window pane mom could see the girls in the playroom and send snacks through.

All of the other furniture was custom designed by the architect to fit each room. Built-ins like these were an incredibly modern feature. LKD was my husband’s grandmother. I do not have a picture of the master bedroom but one of the most forward technologies of the house was that all of the lighting for the house could be controlled from the master bedroom. There was a cabinet built around the headboard so that one could turn on any light in the house before getting out of bed.

An on/off switch for heat in the bathroom. I love the art nouveau inspired grill work.

The open floor plan, full width open doors and a greater connection between the house and nature signaled a trend of houses incorporating more modern elements. The house had a great screened in back porch with sliding doors. The lightweight awning type aluminum framed windows allowed for maximum ventilation throughout the house.

The pool was added to the house a few years later. It was great to swim in the pool and then go play cards and have some lunch on the back porch.

After being sold, the house was torn down to our sadness in 2004. Thankfully though when Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005 the house and all it’s family treasures were spared. I was fortunate to be able to visit the house many times and love the wonderful woman who called that house her home for five decades.