The Art of Illusion...and Therapy

Who would have thought that coloring on walls as a child would lead to a prolific career doing much the same several year later?

Cambrian-based painter Suzanne Gailey is now invited by clients to do just that, and gets paid for it as well. Only her style has changed but her canvas remains the same.

"My mom loves to tell everyone how I was always in trouble for coloring on the walls," said Gailey. "No one realized it was just the beginning of my artistic career."

Gailey has spent the past 12 years as a muralist and decorative finish artist, transforming basic walls into marble, slate, and even animal prints, and molding into rare woods via faux finishes. Her finished works of art are nearly impossible to distinguish from the real thing. Since 1989, she has completed hundreds of projects for residential and commercial clients, including the entire exterior of the 2-story San Jose Symphony Showcase House in Almaden, which she completed in three weeks, Whole Foods in Los Gatos, Plumspa Salon and the Entrepreneur Center Lobby in San Jose. Her work on the Villa Torino Apartment Complex Project in downtown San Jose earned her the Gold Nugget Award for Design in 1997.

A backyard spa now has the benfits of an ocean view

"I've discovered I'm a project-oriented person," said Gailey. "I enjoy the beginning and completion of specific change, and the satisfaction that comes from making things different and more attractive."

Last year, Gailey was invited to host a series of team building workshops and painting parties for corporate clients, including Yahoo!, the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, and Palex Metals. She opened a studio to set up a design space for group interactive exercises in an effort to develop team building. Equipped with colorful artist hats, aprons, and fake mustaches, each team enjoys a catered lunch while deciding on a symbol that identifies their team. They then apply their symbols on each other while discussing ideas for their project, a group painting. The room is set up with several stations containing the various materials and mediums used for the project.

Participants wander around collecting the supplies they wish to use. Eventually the teams start working together to product the final group masterpiece.

The success of this program inspired individuals who participated to host their own specialized parties, producing finished projects that became mementoes for the guests of honor. One such party yielded a pair of love chairs for the couple's wedding gift, complete with creative painting, collages of pictures from magazines and printed phrases, jewels, beads and curious junk drawer findings, all applied lovingly by the hands of the participants. Her large studio warehouse is equipped to handle anything from receptions to birthday parties, complete with catering and hands-on art, customized to fit the desired theme.

A faux stain glass window adds elegance to an ordinary door.

Gailey has established many relationships through her painting, including a long-standing friendship with

Debbie Hayes, director of events for the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce. The two have worked together on many projects, including the fundraising event in 1997 called Silicon Planet, which benefited ARIS (AIDS Referral and Information Service) in San Jose. She and 25 other artists created and donate chairs that were showcased by the Institute for Contemporary Arts and auctioned off, raising thousands of dollars for the event. Other philanthropic projects include the spearheading of a dining, dancing, and art auction benefiting the American Red Cross after the 1989 earthquake, raising $9,000 for local charities.

Currently, Gailey is working on her own line of hand-painted wallpaper in an effort to offer designers and clients custom designs and colors made to order as a new and different way to decorate their environments other than faux painting. She is also very active in the teaching aspect of her business, with all-day workshops that instruct others in the art of painting their own homes from start to finish. Her workshops fill quickly and include a class manual, catered lunch, and design boards created by the participants.

For more information on scheduled classes, team building workshops or personal training parties, contact Suzanne Gailey at 408-499-4491, info@theartofillusionstudios.com, or visit her web site www.theartofillusionstudios.com.