Walls open up worlds

By Lillian Cox

Jan. 13, 2017 4:45 PM PT

Last year, artist Dionisio Ceballos remained home in Berkeley while his wife, Erin Delaney, and daughter, Emilia, flew to San Diego for a workshop. “Then the phone rang and it was my daughter,” he recalled, “She said, ‘We want to move here! It’s beautiful.’”

Initially, he was tentative since he didn’t have a job or home lined up. On the other hand, San Diego had been his lucky city. He was at the airport in 2010 when he learned that he won an Emmy as animator and designer on the documentary, “The Next Frontier: Engineering the Golden Age of Green.”

Ceballos had also gained prominence for his reproductions of the paintings of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo that were featured in the 2002 Academy Award winning film, “Frida,” and as a fine artist with San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Artists Gallery.

“I decided to follow my heart and work hard, go to networking events and start a business,” he said. “I distilled what I had done in the past with what I’m doing today in interior décor by creating faux finishes, glazes, stencils, fine plasters, murals, frescos and collages for the home.”

Today, his Encinitas-based business is called Colibri Painting and Wall Finishes. Colibri means “hummingbird” in Spanish.

“I chose a hummingbird as a logo because they are always present in magical moments,” he said. “When I see a hummingbird, I get attuned. It reminds me of spirit.”

Ceballos works on a mural along the staircase of the Filasky home in La Costa.

Ceballos developed a passion for murals growing up in Mexico City, surrounded by the art of Diego Rivera, husband of Frida Kahlo, and other icons of the Mexican Mural Movement that began in the 1920s.

Among his other creative influences were the meditation practices of Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, the spiritual head of Siddha Yoga.

“My strongest gift is intuition, which I use to identify the client’s mood and provide the most uplifting and inspiring environment for their home,” he said.

“The process begins with a meeting in the home, where I pay attention to subtleties that are meaningful to the individual or family — whether it is sports, nature or their heritage. Then I prepare a digital rendering and meet again to give the client an opportunity to respond. When we agree, we start.”

Ceballos divides his clients into two categories.

Artist Dionisio Ceballos has changed his career focus, now creating murals and wall finishes for homes.

“There are those who completely know what they want and insist on controlling everything,” he said. “Then there are others who give me basic direction and freedom to do what I want. The best work I’ve done is when a client trusts me and is receptive to my ideas and being guided.”

Glenn Shultz gave him free rein to create an accent wall in the living room of his Escondido home. Ceballos’ interpretation of Shultz’s vision was a red wall painted in Venetian plaster.

“I told Dio, ‘I want you to bring God into my house,’” Shultz recalled. “He delivered that and more. Every time I look at the wall, depending on the time of day, or the angle, or set of moods, it looks different. Sometimes I turn my chair around and just look at it.”

Ceballos describes his process as being “alchemical,” not necessarily being guided by formula, but by interactions with clients. “What they receive is not just a decorated wall,” he said. “They receive a transformational process where they are included — and therefore a much deeper experience.”

Recently, Chris Filasky contacted Ceballos after being referred by a friend. He and his wife, Hayley, purchased a home in La Costa in August for the family, which includes three sons, all of whom are under the age of 5.

“I was impressed with Dio’s style and brought him in for a consultation,” he said. “Hayley is an art teacher and has opinions, but Dio was open to our input and very accommodating.”

The couple initially planned to have him create artwork for their dining room and master bedroom.

“Then Dio suggested that the stairway wall could be the focal point of the home with a mural,” Hayley Filasky recalled. “He said ‘This house has your children’s energy and I want them to be part of it and create some of the artwork.’”

The dining room was done in Venetian plaster with seafoam green and blues to complement the existing décor. Marmorino plaster was used for the master bedroom.

Ceballos’ Rocky Mountain range sketch on Chris and Hayley Filasky’s master bedroom walls has special significance. The couple met in Vail, Colo.

“When Dio learned that Chris and I met in Vail, he created a sketch of the Gore Range of the Rocky Mountains, then he painted it behind the bed,” Hayley Filasky said. “Sometimes it’s hard for one artist to work with another, but Dio has been easy to collaborate with. He’s taking our style, and family, and incorporating it into art.”

Ceballos says his best referrals come from his previous projects.

“My favorite clients are those who take risks, because I’m an artist, not just a painter,” he explained.

“Where I am heading is to bring three-dimensional art into homes,” he said. “I have an idea to hang sculpture from the ceiling that would fill the room and be inaccessible to children.”

Cox is a San Diego freelance writer.