In The Clouds

Sometime in January, I got a phone call from a friend. He's an architectural designer, and works mostly commercial buildings. In particular, he designs a lot of restaurants. He was designing a restaurant, and they decided they wanted a cloud treatment on the ceiling, so he called me to see if I'd be interested. I've never done clouds, but have always wanted to. I know how - there are at least 3 different techniques, and I have used one of them on a wall to make a cloudy look (but with pinks, peaches, and yellows - gives the effect of a sunrise). After talking about it for a few minutes to get some basic info (how big the ceiling is, etc), Mr Slamuri told me to figure out a price and put in a bid. I did a little bit of research, talking to the friend of a decorative painter. I decided to take the hourly rate of the more experienced decorative painter and cut it in half, then take the amount of hours I thought it would take (15) and add 5 (to give myself a little leeway). While thinking about this, I also called Mr Slamuri to find out what kind of restaurant, and what type of cloud look the clients wanted. For instance, if they wanted something natural or if they wanted something more whimsical. With the information in mind (natural look for a Vietnamese restaurant that would also have a fountain and some rock and bamboo), I put in my bid. I knew that there were several bids going in, so I wasn't too hopeful.

Well, I got the job. I was a little nervous (what if I screwed up?), but also pretty excited. I have done a lot of different painting techniques for our house as well as for friends. I even painted a friend's wooden entertainment armoire, so I was fairly confident. I received the e-mail giving me the go ahead towards the end of February. I called the contractor to make arrangements to get into the restaurant. I needed a couple of days back to back. I asked about Friday Feb 24. No, that was too soon. So was Saturday. Okay, I couldn't do Tuesday afternoon, but what about Sunday afternoon, all day Monday, and Tuesday morning if necessary? Fine, just call to arrange what time.

Sunday, Feb 26. In the morning, I call the contractor to arrange what time in the afternoon. He tells me that he isn't in town, so I can't get into the restaurant. I start to feel a bit panicked - what if I don't have enough time to do this job? I confirm with the contractor that I can have access all the next day. I suggest an early start - 8:00 am. He says "no, no. 9:30". Well, what else can I do? I agree.

Monday, Feb 27. I arrive at the location at 9:20, ready to unload. Great, there is someone inside. I bring my stuff in, and wait. Because it isn't the contractor, it's the electrician. And he's waiting, too. There is a lot of stuff on the floor, making access to the ceiling area difficult. I start moving things off to the side. Wasn't this supposed to be done? Wasn't this why I couldn't get in on Friday? Whatever. At 10:00, there is still no sign of the contractor, so I just decide to start.

Good thing I chose the technique that I did. The one I really think makes the best clouds would require at least 3 people, because you have to paint the basecoat with glaze, and keep it wet while playing in the clouds. This ceiling is too large and high, plus I don't have other people with me. And now that I've seen it, I realize it would be a bad technique to choose, since there are 4 large, square ventilation fans and 4 silver sprinkler heads in the area. I decide to incorporate one of the white fans into a cloud. One negative - they have painted the basecoat in flat. When you use glaze, there is a sheen (like an eggshell, nothing glossy), so the clouds will stand out more than I would like. Oh well. And the big problem - this ceiling is a raised square, with lighting concealed in the cove. But they have used fluorescent lighting, which distorts the colour, and kills any illusion of depth. The clouds are starting to look good, but every time I turn the lights on, they look flat. I keep layering paint. Finally, around 5:45, I have done as much as I can for the day. My neck is aching, as are my shoulders. I figure I'll come back to finish in the morning (more touch ups than anything - I have overestimated my hours needed). I call the owner, a tiny Vietnamese lady, to have a look. She is coming to the restaurant anyway, and will be there shortly.

She arrives around 6. She looks at the ceiling. And says "it's nice. But have you been to the Greek restaurant? My husband is the one who wanted the clouds, and he loves the ceiling at the Greek restaurant on Busy Road". Well, no I haven't been there in years. And it's very unfortunate that you didn't tell me that before I put in my bid. And I'm assuming that you didn't tell Mr Slamuri either, because that was information he would surely have passed along to me. Anyway, the husband comes to look, and he likes it, although he asks if I've been to the Greek restaurant. He asks if I can soften the edges of a couple of clouds (now that they are dry, they need some touch-ups). No problem. I do it right there and then, because I can't have access the next day - they are starting to frantically clean around me, because the health inspection is the next day. They will be opening with a private party on Saturday night, and opening fully to the public on Sunday. I do my touch-ups, with his smiling approval, and pack up. She writes me a cheque, and I give her a business card, telling her to feel free to contact me if there are any other touch-ups they want done. That night, I e-mail Mr Slamuri (who is on vacation in Florida with his family), just to let him know that the job is done, and the clients seemed satisfied. I did say that I wasn't as pleased with the clouds as I had hoped, but the fluorescent lights and the flat basecoat made a realistic effect very tricky to achieve. I also let him know that I had given my contact information to the clients in case they needed any further work on the clouds.


On March 17, I received an e-mail from Mr Slamuri. Seems that the owner wasn't too happy with the ceiling - could I check out the Greek restaurant, and see what I could do. I was panicking. Did I have to repaint everything? Would I have to pay back the fee? After talking to Mr Slamuri's wife, I felt better. No way was I to repaint. Touch-up as needed, but I did what I was contracted to do - I painted clouds on the ceiling. They had never mentioned the Greek restaurant clouds, so the fact that their clouds weren't what they envisioned was no fault of mine or Mr Slamuri. Okay. . . whew! I said that, with all the other commitments I had coming up, I would be unable to do anything until after Easter (the Greek restaurant is completely inconvenient for me to get to). No problem. FYI - the owner of the Vietnamese restaurant has not contacted me at all.

So, yesterday I was finally able to go to the Greek restaurant in question. I had been there once, very long ago, and could not picture the clouds. Sitting in the restaurant, I also could not picture the clouds. They have acoustic tile on two sections, and the rest of the ceiling is. . . white! There is one small, maybe 4x4 foot raised square section in the ceiling. Inside, it is painted a cerulean blue. And there are lights in the cove. They are very bright, white lights. And they give a bit of a cloud effect around the edges. Just to be sure, I said to the waiter "didn't there used to be clouds painted on the ceiling?". He glanced up with a puzzled look on his face, and said "I don't remember any." I tried not to laugh.

After finishing my salad and paying the bill, I headed out to my car. I couldn't wait a minute longer. I called Mr Slamuri, just to confirm that I was at the correct location. Yep. I filled him in. Both of us were cracking up with laughter. He's going to check it out, and until then, I don't have to do anything. He's also not going to mention anything until he's seen it, but if they owners bring it up, he'll be able to say "well, you see, you're really looking for some lightbulbs"! Too funny!! And I think I'm out of the commercial paint business - it's a lot more fun and way less stressful to do it for friends and family who don't send me on wild goose chases afterwards!