I’m sure the first time I was drawn to Kym and Ron Cappi was at a local wine event. We shared mutual friends and mutual interests, and they’ve since been to my home for dinner and my husband sees Dr. Ron Cappi for his chiropractic needs.

But this article isn’t about our friends or whatever ails my husband. It’s about me finding out that Kym is an artist.

It happened like this: Ron flew past me in his silver sports car on a road to Leona Valley Winery one afternoon. It was maybe the second time I had met them, and once I caught up to them at the winery I noticed something there that Kym had created. It was a cute little hand-painted dog bed made from a wooden wine box for the pooch that resided at the winery. (I wish I had room to put up all of Kym’s Kreations. Follow this hyperlink to see MORE: http://www.kymskreations.net/gallery.html )

Fast-forward a few wine-filled years and I’ve learned that my new pal has a painting business here in Santa Clarita. And she’s been very busy…but she took the time to do one of my 5-question Beacon interviews:

Eve: I’ve included your bio from your website (below) but what else do you want Beacon readers to know about you and your work? I found this on your Facebook and thought that what you wrote was an incredible testament to your compassion:

When buying from an artist, you’re buying more than just an object or painting. You are buying hundreds of hours of failures and experimentation. You are buying days, weeks and months of frustration and moments of PURE JOY. You aren’t just buying a thing. You’re buying a piece of my heart, part of my soul, a moment of my life. MOST importantly, you’re buying the artist more time to do something they are passionate about.

Kym: The above quote is from an unknown author that epitomizes my feeling about art and the creative process. My motto is “art from the heart…where passion meets paintbrush!”

Eve: Okay, for our readers, our very wine-y readers, besides canvases, cheer boxes, furniture refinishing, pet portraits and murals, what wine-themed items have you made?

Kym: First and foremost the personalized wine staves which are the mainstay of my “uncorked” line. I have also created custom hand painted wine and martini glasses. I created signs with hand painted wine quotes such as “I’m aging like a fine wine…I’m getting complex and fruity”, or my favorite for you is “I only drink wine on days that end in ‘Y’”. I can also paint custom wine carriers and cases.

Eve: The hand-painted barrel staves, your latest “Kreation”, are very popular! Have you got some positive feedback from your customers that you would like to share with readers?

Kym: Realtors are ordering them for their buyer’s new homes with an “established” date.

C.S send me a note saying, “ Can’t tell you how many comments we get from friends and family and how great they look!”

A.C. wrote “Bought one for a friend who had just bought a home, the owner who gave me ideas and Kym hit the nail on the head.”

Over the holidays one of my wine quote staves was the last give “stolen” at one of those gift exchanges, which I took as a great compliment since there were 20 other wonderful gifts they could have chosen from.

I have painted staves for wineries, also scotch drinkers and for home wine bars and cellars.

Eve: Is there a connection between your love of art and your love of wine?

Kym: I think there is definitely a connection between my love of art and my love of wine. As a fine vintner must put passion and care into every bottle and glass, I must do the same with my art. A winemaker must pick the right parcel of land for his vineyard, must walk the vineyard, inspect and pick the very best vines and grapes for the wine, and that is just the beginning of the process. As with art, I must listen to my clients find out what type of mural or art they desire, and make their words and ideas into a mural, canvas or stave. As the vintner takes the grapes and works them into wine, I take the desires and ideas of my clients and work them into the finished product.

Eve: Where do you and Ron like to go, both locally and in wine country, for wine? Are there any places that you visit that also share a love of art?

Kym: As far as local wineries we love going to Malibu, which is an emerging wine market. Cielo and Malibu family wineries are our favorites. We also enjoy Santa Ynez, Los Olivos and Santa Maria on a regular basis. Paso Robles wine country and Napa get a visit at least once a year as well.

As far as places with art and wine, Artesa in Napa has a fantastic collection of art that you can tour while tasting, and the winery is fantastic. Del Dotto’s newest location in Napa has some wonderful pieces as well. There are many fabulous art collections in Napa.

From the Website

Kym’s KreationsTM is a decorative painting and mural business based in Santa Clarita, California run by Artist Kym Cappi.

Pablo Picasso once said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” As a child, painting was my life. At age 5, bored with plain white walls, I decided to paint on those walls. My mother was furious at the time, but with encouragement and paper to paint on, I found my calling. I took every art class available to me in school and with some entrepreneurial spirit, I ventured out to paint storefront windows for the holidays. Sign painting, graphic design and tole painting classes helped me to further my business by offering clients stylish and hand painted items thus, Kym’s Kreations was born.

I create decorative illusions with paint for residential and commercial clients. I have a wide range of training and experience that allow me the ability to implement a variety of mural projects regardless of scale and subject matter. Artistically experimenting with many different mediums over the years has given me knowledge and skill, which is executed in my work. My murals have been featured on “HGTV”, in Santa Clarita’s local paper “The Signal”, and “Inside SCV Magazine”. I’m honored to have been voted “Best of 2007” by Santa Clarita Living Magazine.

Call me for a complimentary consultation. I’ll meet you at the commercial site or residence, evaluate the project, take measurements and pictures, etc. I’ll come up with an estimate complete with sketches for your approval. Prices vary according to size, subject matter and detail.

“Life’s too short to live with plain, white walls!”

http://www.kymskreations.net