`You’ve got to play your life by ear. What you plan may not happen. That’s OK. Something else will happen,” says muralist Kathryn Hajaved of Clarendon Hills.
To Hajaved, this philosophy applies both to her freehand technique and to her career, which she launched at age 54 after illustrating greeting cards and advertisements.
Now in her 60s (“Old enough to wear purple,” she says.), the young-at-art Hajaved has a loyal following of homeowners, business owners and interior designers who admire her hand-painted wall murals.
Seventy-five percent of Hajaved’s business is residential, 25 percent commercial. Although her focus is murals, she also paints furniture and faux finish and trompe l’oeil walls.
Amid the bric-a-brac in her Downers Grove studio, where she stashes her “I could do something with this” flea market finds, are Hajaved’s “preliminaries,” acrylic-on-canvas paintings that precede her elaborate murals. (For less complicated designs, Hajaved gives her clients color sketches.) She paints the preliminaries after meeting with the clients, determining their favorite colors, collecting fabric swatches and taking Polaroid photos of the rooms to be painted.
“When I give them a sketch, I tell them a firm price,” she says. “And, I tell them how long it will take me to paint. Some take a week; others take a few months.”
Hajaved’s murals range from lush, tapestry scenes to pastel fairylands. Usually, a mural reflects the client’s favorite memory, place, hobby or family story. Many incorporate children or pets.
“I’ve painted a dunes scene for a couple in Munster who missed their lake home,” says Hajaved. “I did a `Field of Dreams’ scene for a baseball enthusiast. In a home theater, I did a three-wall mural that showed people in rows of cars at a drive-in theater in the ’50s, with a `Woody’ in the foreground and a snack bar in the background.”
Hajaved researches her subjects at the public library. For classical motifs and ornamental detail, she refers to what she calls her bibles–dogeared volumes of copyright-free designs. “My favorite mural had a lot of classical designs, with Greek columns and arches. I painted it on top of half-inch-thick, cracked wallpaper, which gave it lots of texture,” she says.
Hajaved works five to six hours each weekday, beginning in the late morning. “I am not an early riser,” she admits. “I bring a pot of plain, good coffee and a sandwich for a late lunch. On Saturdays, I like to work in the studio.”
While she works, she listens to audio books, preferring Chicago-based mysteries.
Hajaved savors her privacy, often painting while her clients are at work. “I’ve worked with other artists, but I prefer to work alone. I have a vision of the design and style of the mural. I can’t explain that to another person. Friends have encouraged me to teach, but I can’t translate my ideas to someone else.”
After drawing a rough outline of the design on the wall, Hajaved paints with acrylics she mixes on the job and a variety of brushes she groups in Pringles potato chip cans.
“I use a dozen different kinds of brushes, including fan-shaped brushes to make foliage and large, flat brushes for the background,” she says. She uses a fine-tip brush to sign “KHajaved” discreetly in a corner.
“The hardest part is knowing when to quit,” she says. “You can always add more details. I’m never quite satisfied in the end.” But her clients are very satisfied; they keep her telephone ringing with referrals.
More and more, clients ask Hajaved to create their murals on canvas. They attach them to the walls with wallpaper paste, then take the murals with them when they move.
A native of Chicago, Hajaved was graduated from the American Academy of Art in Chicago. “My parents were not artistic,” she recalls. “But I was encouraged in my artwork by my parents and my teachers, especially one kooky high school art teacher I remember.” They must have encouraged Hajaved’s sister, too; she is a professional watercolor artist in Iowa.
In her spare time, Hajaved tracks the Chicago Bulls and Bears; visits her daughter, Carolyn Kerr, in Missouri; and collects antiques. In her studio is an artsy mix of restoration projects-in-waiting–a brass chandelier, a wicker dressmaker’s bodice and a purple stone table base.
Reflecting on her reinvented career, Hajaved draws these conclusions: “I’m not rich. But I am blessed with a talent and am lucky to make a living out of it. Success is doing what I want to do when I want to do it. There’s a quote on my refrigerator that says: `If you can’t be happy with yourself, you’re not in good company.’ “
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For more information, contact Kathryn Hajaved, 935 Curtiss St., Downers Grove, Ill. 60515. Telephone: 630-986-9276.
