Michele Peraino (of Michele Peraino Design Studio) often teams up with Hugh to offer award winning murals, wall and furniture faux finishes, marbling, woodgraining, gilding and much more.. Website:
Murals and painted finishes comprise the bulk of the company's projects. Architectural finishes such as marbling, woodgraining, imitation of stone and natural materials as well as gilding and painted g
raphics are offered. Murals are rendered most often in a trompe l'oeil or realistic manner. Lately we have been called upon to paint primitive early American-style murals in the manner of the itinerant painters of that period. Projects completed include many residential as well as industrial and commercial hotels or offices. Luck today completes the bulk of the work himself with the help of additional artists who are employed in peak work periods. A limited number of commissions are offered each year and booking well in advance is recommended. Pine Street's principle geographic working areas are Philadelphia and New York, but projects have been completed in almost every major city in the United States. Hugh received a BA in music from the University of Virginia in 1976, where he also studied art and architectural history, drawing, design, and theatrical painting. Continuing education followed at the then-named Philadelphia College of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art with courses in color development and sign painting. Peter retired in 1996 and under Hugh's guidance the company is now known for top-quality artistic painted finishes and trompe l'oeil murals. Early on, there were American illustrators such as Maxfield Parrish, Joseph Leyendecker, and N.C. Wyeth. A Philadelphia Museum of Art show featuring "Masters of 17th Century Dutch Landscape Painting" was an inspiration. Faux and mural painters whose books, methodology, and talent he admires and refers to daily include Ina Marx, Graham Rust, Pierre Finklestein, and Yannick Guegan. He has worked with local Philadelphia artists John and Tish Allbright, the late Eric Potts, Joseph Mingari, Lorraine Sporer, and David Flett. Of course, working with Peter Freudenberg has been an undeniable influence. Five interior designers with whom Hugh has worked in particular come to mind for having pushed his abilities to higher levels. They include Barbara Eberlein, Linda Goldstein, Robert Denning, Bennett Weinstock, and Mary Ann Kleschick. Pauline Vastardis also gave Hugh the chance to paint his first large-scale room with trompe l'oeil elements. Recently, all things early American primitive or country, including the work of 19th century itinerant painters (notably Rufus Porter) and furnishings of the period, have gained his interest. Hugh will again this year be teaching a couple of seminars at the Rufus Porter Museum in Bridgton, Maine. He looks back to all the jobs he has seen and the work of anonymous painters from the past whose work he has encountered, and endeavours to decipher their skills and, failing that, to simply enjoy viewing their talents.
