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| Our website is currently being updated. Please follow up later to view the complete gallery. In the mean time, please scroll down for an outline of our works. Contact me for a complete viewing of my portfolio and samples. CONTACT INFO: 602.799.7758 jason@dragontre.com |
| (602)799-7758 jason@dragontre.com |
| Italian plasters, polished marble, earth clay, lime |
| or "Venetian Plasters" Trained and certified in Italy by the Regent Venice Decoration Academy. We buy only from them and they only sell to those qualified. This is to insure the products are used properly and the reputation remains as it has for many centuries. We also use Clay Plasters and Lime Plasters from France, Morocco, Japan and regions of the United States. When historical and architectural correctness is necessary, we have the knowledge and the connections to bring you the proper materials and to apply the materials in the proper manor. When LEED points are required, we break down the msds sheets to show what materials give you the most "green". In fact we go beyond that. Today's "green" means anti smog and environmentally friendly. But there are still some pollutants that can come from other materials that are unhealthy to breath. We have products that not only lack these unhealthy breathables, but that have a natural ability to absorb and kill other pollutants and odors for the life of the home. They're called Diatomaceous Earth Plasters. Likewise, I create plasters of my own. Always coming up with new materials that can keep up with the times, follow the "green" trends and give you the look that you and your budget are looking for. Even many exterior and floor plasters. Tadelakt plasters are also in the works. This is a plaster that can be used in basins and tubs and are completely waterproof. Allowing you to bring your wall plaster right down into your bathtub and sinks and to the floor. Truly incredible. |
Regarding Plasters
RegardingPaints
| Murals are hand painted, stenciled or airbrushed in oils, acrylics or other creative materials. They can be done over any substrate imaginable when done correctly. We often see them on billboards, exterior walls, interior drywall, furniture and on cars. All of which, I've done and can do for you. I can paint any picture you may come up with, cut any stencil pattern you like and put it onto whatever you want. Indoors or out. No limits. Frescoes are done only in the authentic manor dating back over 2000 years. The same way Michelangelo and Leonardo did their masterpieces. True frescoes are authentic organic pigments over wet lime plaster. Allowing the pigment to become one with the plaster. It must be done while the plaster is still uncured or you'll have to chip it out and start over. Frescoes like the Sistine Chapel was achieved one hand, one head, one robe at a time. Just enough area of the painting to ensure it would be completed before the plaster sets up. It has a richness and depth like no other kind of mural and can last for centuries. Eco-friendly painting, quality specialty finishes, aging & antiquing, high tech modern and contemporary finishes all are a part of what we do. Having a background in theming studio art and motion picture scenic work, we have products available to us that others do not. But moreover this means that if we plaster your walls, we can also handle the other incidentals in the surrounding area to pull it all together. We can even do the drywall work. Bringing the wall to an acceptable finish for the plaster so you don't have to worry about having a drywall crew guess on what we need. Whatever the project needs... we handle it! NO FAUX - We only do authentic specialty finishes, nothing fake. |
| frescoes, murals & specialty finished |
| Artist Bio My name is Jason Lee Davis I am the artist, plaster artisan and owner of Dragontre. I have a love for art and architecture and have spent my entire life studying materials and techniques. Since I was 5 years old, I have spent much time at an easel, on a stage or in front of a camera. I grew up around studios and have acted in movies and TV shows much in my youth. But my true career began as a scenic artist. Behind the scenes. Doing movie sets and stage work. This allowed me to perfect the use of strange materials that most people have never even heard of. Only there can you find and train with artists who are the best in the world at magically altering a place into any environment imaginable. Transporting you entirely into another time. Into another world. Later, I began to bring these techniques home with me. Creating in my own living room or studio. On my own walls. Painting everything that didn't run away. Soon that led me to a contracting business that kept me in the construction field. Transforming fine homes, hotels, casinos restaurants and clubs. Even children's rooms. Like a movie or a play, my goal was to add a feeling to an environment. Fooling the psyche into believing that the world outside has disappeared. Allowing your mind to take a break from the every day. Just like a movie, except every time you walk in the door. Upon studying, I saw that what I was doing was not new. It has been going on for centuries. And the way to learn was from the masters who created it so many years ago. So off to study I went... Through it all, plasters and frescoes have become my real love. My dream is to follow in the footsteps of the great masters of the renaissance. I want to spend my life studying the art of high decoration. I have gone to Europe and trained and studied. I have spent time alone with walls and art and it seemed like a dream. I have taken thousands of photos. And yet the best places I've seen, cameras were not allowed. Keeping the images stored in my memory, and always calling me back to see it again. I have plans to continually return and study in the studios of masters. Not to vacation, mind you. But to take the cheapest flight, stay in the cheapest rooms (usually hundreds of years old) and backpack through the rain and confusing signs with my camera and sketch pad. Lonely for my family. Drinking plenty of espresso just to keep up my energy and to use every dime and hour wisely. I have learned so much... and I have so far to go. Michelangelo said in his old age of 89, "I'm dying. And I've scarcely learned the ABC's of art. I was just beginning to do my real work." I will never learn it all. And I certainly don't expect to be as achieved as Buonarroti at 89. But I do want to die trying. I want to do work that others would travel to see. I am a purist when it comes to the traditional and historical. And I will even fight for them to get them right. But I also like to take those same techniques and add to them, change them and make my own. Knowing that what is now historical beauty, at one time was invention. And it continues... If you sense a passion from me, it is my life. Not a job or a money mongering business, but a complete lifestyle that does not clock out or sell or produce. I know that with each job I do, it is a privilege just to be working with the materials. And I am sure to work in a way worthy of this fascinating and beautiful art. To do what is "fine". |
| Black Cabinets with New Crown Molding - Before & After |
| Floor done in Metallic Copper with Silver Tree hand painted into it. Walls done in Espresso Venetian Plaster and Green Hand Made Plaster. |
| A more intense metallic plaster was used in the powder bath. This looks like chunks of red gold was chipped away from the wall. This job was done in Vegas,... baby. |
| My cabinets are better than factory finish. The quality of the materials is very high and I guarantee them for two years against any chipping and peeling. I take the doors with me so you don't have to deal with my spraying them at your home. Just the frames are done there. And in most cases, you don't need to remove the items from your cabinets. |
| Refinishing Cabinets are a very popular choice when updating a home on a budget. Far less expensive than replacing or refacing. Add new hardware and crown molding or trim and it literally seems to remodel your entire kitchen. I offer enamel paint, lacquer, varnish, glazing, distressing or complete stripping and restains. I can also use no VOC and environmentally friendly products with the same guarantees. |
| Ask about my new floor systems. I can do overlays of an environmentally friendly glass and cement based material guaranteed to stick well to anything! Even wood. I can do this as thin as 16th of an inch or as thick as needed. I can go right over tile as well. Even over ANY counter top! AND it can be used outside as well! It can be stained or painted. And is entirely environmentally friendly! No stink! |
NEW TRENDS "Old World" is a staple in Arizona... and probably always will be. It is more traditional here as it fits Southwestern, Tuscan, Western, French Country, Mediterranean, and Americana styles. With vaulted ceilings and bullnosed corners in most of our homes, these styles interchange with a flick of the knick-knack. So if you're into these styles, don't feel the need to change if you like it. These styles have been around for years and some, centuries. They will not date. Just some freshening up from time to time. However, there's something new for us here in the Valley of the Sun. It's mean, Green and clean! You've heard the buzz words and seen the ads with the cutsie picture of the red eyed tree frog, glistening globes and spiraled fluorescent light bulbs. But how does this affect our home trends? And better yet, what does this have to do with finishes? Everything. As you know, all of our products are changing... and fast. Everything is all natural, organic, environmentally friendly and of course, Green. All of this is happening in the finish industry as well. Except one word is added, sustainable. All of the paints, plasters, wallboards and all of the glues that put them together are changing for the the better. But almost too fast. The other day I bought a roll of "Frog Tape" at Home Depot. Complete with picture of the red eyed guy himself. |
W H A T ' S H O T . . . W H A T ' S C O O L . . . |
| W H A T ' S N E W . . . |
Coming Soon! Write-ups on the latest natural wallpapers, funky wall treatments and newest troweled flooring products. You're going to want to see this, so if you catch me in person, ask me! I'll show them to you! |
| If you don't mind, I'd like to share some of my photos taken in Europe. All of the surrounding shots are mine (and are copy written, so please don't) Come back later as this is not the actual website. The new one will have much more to see & learn from. In the mean time, please contact me and set up an appointment to see some samples for yourself. Ciao! |
| Or just call me... Jason Lee Davis (602)799-7758 (602)441-2949 fax jason@dragontre.com ROC#205424 |
| The science behind the making of Italian Plasters. (photos taken by myself at Safra in Verona, Italy) |
| Our real Italian plaster being made by real Italians. |
| Everyone in Italy is slow paced,... until they are behind the wheel. |
| "Scusami!" |
| A replication of the Leonardo da Vinci painting, "The Annunciation" Circa 1452 Painted in a Phoenix residence by myself. |
... in Venice
| 602.799.7758 jason@dragontre.com |
| In front of the castle Safra used for it's logo. An honor. |
| Much of the material we use comes from Safra. The plaster most Italians will only use. Their marble dust used comes from the Italian Alps close by. They create plasters in the same fashion used centuries ago. Our best in the U.S. just can't compare. THAT is why I am here. Please consider that when other applicators boast that they make their own. I can make plaster too... but I'm here. |
| In thought... in Paris. (1000 points to anyone who knows where in Paris I am.) |
| What we do: The art of high decoration. Nothing fake or faux. But the finest materials, techniques and design from around the world. I will continue to spend my life studying and traveling in order to bring our clientelle the most difficult to find. Specializing in what most companies have never even heard of. Contact me for a menu of our products and abilities. Many are secret and won't be mentioned here. I can design for whatever your needs. Pricing: Better than everyone else. Absolutely. When inferior products (like ANY "venetian plasters" purchased in the US) are used, it requires more labor to get the product to perform well. I know these products. I've used them and have grown weary of them. Quality products sided with techniques used by masters, make the process finer and faster... therefore the price is reduced as well. Compare. You'll see. OUR COMPETITION: Well, there isn't any. I don't know of any company who does things quite the way we do. But some can be confused as to who we can be compared with. So let me clear some of this up. DRYWALL COMPANIES who are cashing in on the plaster scene. Look out here. There are many companies out there who are using fake venetian plasters. But the labels on their products are what I call "Italian washed". They may have ingredients from Italy and some are even canned in Italy. So they can claim real Italian plasters. But you'll know the difference when you see the job done and feel the surface. Most people have never seen real Italian plasters so they don't yet know the difference. Also an enormous difference comes in technique. Their crew is a drywall crew that has been shown a few tricks and they blow through the project. After seeing the real deal, you too will see how cheap this looks and how irritating it can be that this can be passed off as real. True Italian plasters are done by artisans who have always been in the creative field and are apprenticed by masters. It's been done like this for centuries and no technology today has (or can) changed this. This is an art... not an application. The applicator who says, "I MAKE ALL MY OWN PLASTERS" By now I'm sure you see the problem with this. I make some of my own plasters as well. But it doesn't save you much money and in the end, when you ask for Italian plasters, you should get it. From a several generation family from Italy. Not someone's garage. Even seasoned plaster makers have a hard time realizing that it is not only the size of the marble & lime particles, but even the shape that is crucial. This is achieved by trial and error by Italians for centuries to get it right. Don't let someone hand you a CZ when you're asking for a diamond. And paying a diamond price. Those who get the right material, but are all production. Again, money mongers. This is an art. And the art is fast, not slow. They say Michelangelo could cut far more stone at the age of 75 than the best of the youngest. So believe me, we get it done, too. But some applicators have also trained and are certified to buy real materials, but limit their production to only the quickest finishes that make the most money. They've also replaced much of the primers and basecoats with products from other companies to also make more money. This is very bad for the industry. It holds the Italian name but is not held to their standard. It's just plain wrong. When it fails, so does the reputation. This is what has happened to the term "faux". Poor standards. Faux finishes and Trompe L'Oeil have been around for centuries as well, and are (in Europe) beautiful. It is an art that takes much study and apprenticship. But the art in the US is now dead and buried because of a bunch of rag slappers and bad products. I've yet to see a faux finish done right and done well. So, like everyone else, I now stay far away from them. What I do like is real, honest, authentic materials that come straight from the ground. And used in an artistic manor that takes honed skill, study, long apprenticeship and talent. Something that is elegant and rare. Taken seriously and done thoughtfully. And natural. Not contrived. Just pure nature cleaned off and polished for all to admire. |
| Against a sloped ceiling. Approximately 8 feet by 14 feet. |
| This is Sab. The world's greatest photographer from Paris. He tought me much. He can be found at www.parissetmefree.com |
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| MY PHOTOGRAPHY |
| ...more to come. I will try to put on a new photo every two days or so. Thanks for looking. |