Debra Ferrari credits her mother and an endless number of summer hikes in the national parks in her home state of Ohio for her love of nature. “Almost every weekend during summer breaks, my mother would pack up the station wagon with my sister, brother, me, our dog and any neighborhood kid willing to tag along to go hiking,” she says. It is this love and appreciation for nature that permeates all of her contemporary fine art paintings.
Continuing in the tradition of interpreting nature through her acrylic paintings, Ferrari recently launched a collection of wallcoverings inspired by her fine art. Initially containing 24 designs, Ferrari plans to increase the collection over time. Although each wallcovering design is a magnification of an interesting detail from one of her fine art paintings, they are not simply digitally repetitive patterns but more artistically styled. Ferrari created the wallcoverings for small spaces, such as a powder room, or as an accent on a wall or in an alcove.
“Humans have a deep connection with nature, and we spend the majority of our time indoors. Bringing the feeling of the outdoors in helps us to feel calm, centered and at ease,” she says. “The wallcoverings are created to add interest and design to a space or room. They are available in ready-to-go rolls, or they can be customized to fit specific room dimensions. Some designs can be replicated on a larger scale and are marked on my website.”
Since all of Ferrari’s fine art and wallcoverings are focused on nature, it is important to her that the new wallcovering collection is printed in the United States on eco-friendly paper. “The wallcovering substrate brings the feeling of a traditional canvas to a space,” she says.
The fine artworks on which the wallcovering collection is based are large-format acrylic paintings with layer upon layer of brushwork and troweling. “I create depth and interest in my paintings by adding multiple layers of paint onto my canvases,” Ferrari says. While all of her collections have a connection to nature, the Adler Collection, which she paints outdoors, is truly inspired by Mother Nature.
Although recent hikes in Zion National Park this year and daily walks on the Katy Trail in Dallas fuel new subject matter, collectors and fans also send Ferrari snapshots of their sunsets and storms from all over the world, which inspire new paintings in her Forces of Nature Collection. These inspirations are integrated into both her fine art paintings and wallcoverings. “My original fine art paintings narrate my love for nature, depicting beautiful spaces and transporting my viewers to places in time and memories of their own experiences in the natural world,” she says.
The wallcoverings are available through Ferrari’s designer program, which is celebrating 20 years since its creation. “The wallcoverings are available to both the public and trade in my showroom and online. I have worked with interior designers for over 20 years and made many new friends that way,” Ferrari says. “The wallcoverings actually were inspired by an interior designer friend, Lisa Hendrickson, who planted the seed of the idea in my head to create artful wallcoverings. Through the program, I give designers first access to new designs as well as special pricing. My goal is to make it a turnkey process for designers, making it easy for them to present and provide art to their clients.”
Custom wallcoverings are ready in just three weeks from order to installation. For designers and homeowners who would like to see the full wallcovering collection in person, Ferrari showcases samples in her gallery, Ferrari Gallery, located in the Dallas Design District and online.
Dana W. Todd is a professional writer specializing in interior design, real estate, luxury homebuilding, landscape design, architecture and art.
