10 July,2010 07:07 AM IST | | Dhvani Solani
A believer in fairy tales, self-taught artist Alison Pinto has made a career out of turning staid walls into stunning art pieces
While in school, Alison Pinto devoured CS Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, a fantastical world where animals could talk, magic was second nature, good battled evil, and protagonist kids helped the majestic lion Aslan save Narnia. For Alison, a lion was thus never a predator; he was always Aslan.
Alison paints a vase full of blooming beauties at Olive Bar & Kitchen
PIC/RANE ASHISH
Her current status: 37 and married with a six year-old daughter Lisa. Notwithstanding this, Aslan still holds a special place for Alison. Today, a watercolour painting of the big cat with piercing green eyes occupies prime space in her living room.
This self-taught artist along with Leslie, her interior designer husband,u00a0 runs Alison Design Studio. Their motto: to transform your staid walls into a work of art. "We were once approached by a couple to decorate their home. Their bedroom was fairly large, but the bed totally swallowed three corners of the room, with large windows above it.
The fourth corner was occupied by a wardrobe, making the room look too functional," recalls Alison. The husband-wife team came up with a plan; they painted boughs of flowers over the windows, which then spilled down as a trellis onto the headboard and a bit on the wardrobe too.
"It completely transformed the space," she smiles. A fashion designer by education and a graphic designer by interest, Alison can work around client preferences, lifestyle choices and passions to come up with a design that can then be executed on either a wall, fabric, furniture piece or even a mirror.
Her creative instincts find outlets in the form of design websites, corporate identities, logos, packaging, garments, brochures and even jewellery. "Every assignment is a learning process for me since it involves immense amount of research," says Alison. Her love for Mughal and Persian art is a constant inspiration. And though she is inspired by Peruvian watercolour artist Victor Martinez, Alison doesn't work on portraits. It's simply nature in all its bounty for this fan of belly-dancing.
48 HOURS OF MADNESS
Step into the white stucco-walled interiors of Olive Bar & Kitchen at Mahalaxmi, and you are transported to contemporary Greece through murals depicting everyday snapshots of life in the faraway land. The striking colours incorporated in the Bougainvillea flowers in the interiors of the restaurant and the Hydrangea blossoms on the outer fa ade counterbalance the white stucco and brick finishes. Alison completed this assignment in two days flat, and cherishes it as a memorable experience.
Call Alison on 9867770878 or mail her on alisonpinto@gmail.com. Prices start at Rs 30,000 for a mural.
