Painter turns homes into works of art
Lance Koprowski used to get in trouble with teachers for doodling during
class.
Now his artistic inclinations have painted him a bright future compared to
his earlier life which was filled with reprimands and admonishments.
Koprowski is a decorative and interior art painter for Sanibel Faux and John
Grey Painting on Sanibel.
Be it with paint, Phoenician plaster or powdered marble, Koprowski
transforms blank spaces or bland walls into works of art. He also creates
outside wall murals for patios and lanais that are resistant to the
elements.
Koprowski prefers to create abstract pieces on large canvasses. He works
with many different oils, outdoor paints and a type of clay used by Native
Americans.
He joined John Grey over a year ago and maintains a busy schedule of
creating unique wall paintings for high-profile clients, remodeling
interiors and participating in local art events.
He recently participated in the BIG ARTS Studio Tour. Guests who signed up
for the tour had a chance to see some of Koprowski’s canvasses — many
notable for their bold strokes and unabashed color — in addition to the
work he has on display in the store .
Driven and inspired to create, the soft-spoken artist, sees every new
project as a sort of adventure. “It’s a job that I love doing,” he said.
“It’s just a nice release.”
At 38, Koprowski has been a painter for 20 years. He got his start in
California when he was asked by an interior design firm to work for them
while still a student at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
(FIDM). He moved to Cape Coral in 2002 and has been working on commission
pieces as well as doing interior work the entire time he has been in
Southwest Florida.
Though Koprowski’s portfolio contains work he has done for celebrity clients
Mark McGuire, Chris Mullen and Hardy Nickerson and John Madden, one would
never know he has been an artist to the stars by his laid-back, gentle
spirited demeanor.
To paint an image of Koprowksi, picture a tall, lanky man sporting a
comfortable T-shirt pulling up on a hand-built black and coral Harley
Davidson. He delights in making people happy with his art as well as doting
on his wife, Rachele, and their children, Gianna,10, Rocco, 8, and Kiley
Jean, 5.
Whe he’s working, the interior artist spends time getting to know his
clients and their vision for their home… And right now that vision seems to
be nestled very closely between a need for change along with the desire to
keep costs down in a still rocky economy.
Koprowski said many local folks are choosing to enhance what they already
have instead of redoing their entire home. For instance, he helped one
client create a new look in her island home by repainting a chandelier and
sprucing up the cabinets.
Carol Schapiro, the office manager for Sanibel Air Conditioning and
Sanctuary Island Electric, said she hired John Grey to put a faux finish on
a guest bathroom in the home she recently bought in Fort Myers. Koprowski
incorporated the faux finish with the bathroom’s later model tiling. “It’s
wonderful,” Schapiro said. “It’s absolutely beautiful. He’s an absolutely
talented young man about his craft.”
And, for those who like to learn how to do some interior painting and add
fine arts touches in their homes, John Grey is getting ready to start
classes. In conjunction with BIG ARTS, John Grey Painting will offer classes
in faux painting among others. “I can show them how to make it [home
project] turn out the way they want it,” Koprowski said.
To learn more about Koprowski and his work, check out John Grey’s website at
sanibelfaux.com.