Iron man

Anthony Paul can’t believe the trust people put in him. The iron artisan arrives at their homes without a portfolio of his past work to choose from, then tries to get the clients to talk about their innermost feelings. Then he makes a few rough sketches that even he says can look a little childish. But the rich and famous in Santa Barbara keep hiring him, and in the 20 years he has been working in metal, he has had only one completed work rejected. (Even though one weekend it meant telling off a roomful of celebrities in language not printable here.)

He can do the sort of Spanish ironwork that is inescapable in Santa Barbara, especially if that’s what it will take to help the client reach an “everyday romanticism.” But often when he urges the client to open up emotionally, the result might be more like a Napa vineyard gone wild or a rain-forest canopy come to earth. Why the need for romantic getaways when you can hire people to make your home a place you never want to leave? he asks. “If you’re picking out clothes you pick what you want,” he says. Why is it so hard when it comes to a gate for the garden or a balcony railing or a one-of-a-kind bed frame?

Once he’s extracted the information through observation and interview, he’s ready to trust his own artistic vision. It’s one that speaks many languages, he says. There might be some Craftsman, a little Mediterranean, a splash of Cape Cod. He’s comfortable with breaking away from convention, having left behind a landed gentry upbringing in San Marino to become an artist in Santa Barbara. Now he lives in an 1890s Victorian that saw service as a brothel called “Wings of Love.” Somehow fitting for an artisan who wants his patrons to reach for their fantasies.

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(Iron Tip) To keep iron from rusting, Paul coats it in wax in a process that he warns must be used with extreme caution. Warm a block of paraffin on the stove, being careful not to set it on fire, then make a mixture that’s half paraffin, half linseed oil and brush onto the iron, which can be heated with a propane torch, making the wax easier to spread on the warmed surface.

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Anthony Paul Studio, (805) 962-7736.