Name: Robert Ahrens-Lamos
Occupation: Artist and homemaker
Background: Roberta lives in Petaluma with her husband, John Lamos, and her two daughters, Haley and Samantha. The couple also have three grown children in college.
Born in Roseburg, Ore., Ahrens-Lamos moved to San Francisco in 1981 to work with her sister, Shelley Masters. She studied with her sister and Joanne Day of the Day Studio in San Francisco and soon started a career in the decorative arts, becoming a faux finisher and muralist.
?I?ve had had a very successful career and business doing both residential and commercial projects across the country,? she said. ?With my practical knowledge of artistic applications and experience with large-scale murals and finishes, I have been able to develop an interesting and new style of painting on a handmade canvas of cracked linen.?
Artwork on display: One of Ahrens-Lamos? notable projects is an 85-by-9-foot cubist/contemporary style mural of Women and Botanicals hand-painted on cracked linen that can be viewed in the watch department at Macy?s Union Square in San Francisco.
At Alexandra?s at the top of the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco is a large-scale Russian-inspired mural for interior designer Jose Meskan.
A 26-foot-tall faux marble column is in the main entry of the caf?and restaurant of the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose.
Her other newer works may be viewed at Living Green in San Francisco, Studio 42 in Los Gatos and online at www.studiodirectart.com and at www.johnsartists.com.
In 1999, she and her husband moved to Petaluma and together created Studio Replica, a showroom for their faux rock and other art work.
?In 2001 I began painting smaller murals and paintings at my home in the countryside of Petaluma,? she said.
What are some of your goals? ?I?m currently seeking representation of my botanical paintings and have set a goal of having representation in 10 galleries on the West Coast in the next two years.?
What has been a turning point in your life? ?Having children and needing to create a working situation that allowed me to stay home with the kids.?
Today Ahrens-Lamos is happily raising her girls, supporting her husband in his creative endevours as an artist and sculptor, and enjoying living and working in Petaluma.
To see more samples of her work, visit www.robertaahrens.com.
? Interviewed by
Yovanna Bieberich
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