On the home page of Leonard Pardon’s website is a picture of the decorative painter sitting at a bleu belge marble table covered with white feathers. The feathers are rather curious, and it’s only when one sees Pardon painting with a feather that one understands the meaning. He uses the feather for certain wall finishes where the desired affect is marbleizing. And, by the way, that’s not a real marble table—it’s faux.
Pardon's specialty is all the faux paint finishes at which he is a recognized master and teacher: trompe l’oeil painting that fools the eye, wood graining, faux marbles and travertine, and even the imitation of semi-precious stones such as lapis lazuli, malachite and tortoiseshell.
Trained as an artist, the London-born Pardon apprenticed with British master A.E. Baxby, who taught him the techniques of decorative painting that had been passed down through generations since the Middle Ages. His experiences with Baxby led him to one of his most prominent commissions, marblezing the dado (the middle of the base of a column) in Buckingham Palace’s famous Blue Drawing Room (above).
Now based in Miami, Florida, Pardon is called on to paint decorative ceilings, oftentimes in the Mizner style, which is popular in that region, and trompe l'oeil on walls and ceilings. His past and present clients include royalty and celebrities living around the world, and many of his commissions are from interior designers. Current projects include the Ritz-Carlton Gulf Lodge in Naples and several private commissions, including a large mural of scenes from the Wizard of Oz for a Kansan living in Palm Beach.
He appears on the Discovery Channel’s Home Matters show on October 5 to demonstrate his skills in faux painting.
October 2001
12 different painted marble patterns
Leonard Pardon, with the feathers he uses to paint 
