The ‘unseen hand’ in decorating

Press, 21 April 1979, Page 21

The ‘unseen hand’ in decorating

Thousands of Christchurch people work in relaxed surroundings, without knowing they have Mrs Vera Mackay to thank. As the senior colour consultant and decorator for Taubmans International (New Zealand), Ltd, Mrs Mackay has been the unseen hand in many work places, taking the edge off dull walls and uglp machinery. She is leaving the job, after 40 years directing the painting, and decoration, of factories, offices, houses, hotels, hospitals and even power stations. Trained in both fine art and architecture, Mrs Mackay describes herself as the only decorator in New Zealand who gave advice for the complete colour and decoration of buildings. Her free services have been keenly sought by householders, businessmen md institutions. Mrs Mackay enthusiastically spoke of her work: “If a person is working, eyes screwed up, on an illuminated machine, they must rest when they look up. If they see grey concrete, they see nothing, no relaxation. My job is to provide a colour, not a focal colour, but something interesting.” This part of her work, Mrs Mackay described as getting colours to react pleasantly on people at work. The type of work, the lighting and the sur-

roundings all help determine what colours were painted where. On a big scale, this was applied at the Marsden Point Oil Refinery. Two years ago, the oil companies accepted an "environmental colour plan” by Mrs Mackay. The painting of the huge oil tanks and pipes is almost complete, and Mrs Mackay said the companies were thrilled.” The installations are being blended with their typical New Zealand backdrop. The muted colours range from green to sandy brown. Mrs Mackay said it was the first time in the world that such a complex had been given this form of artistic treatment. The nearly complete Ascott Park Motor Hotel in Invercargill is an example of the other side of Mrs Mackay’s work. She began work on this three years ago, as soon as the architect had completed his working plans. Since then, she has worked alongside the architect and the proprietor, ordering carpets, furniture, fabrics and wall coverings. The end result, she said would be a “ranch style theme,” using rich colours and stained timbers. “A decorator is not a decorator unless he can read technical plans and specifications, and understand what is in the architect’s mind.” She attributes much of her ability

to a thorough grounding in “colour theory” at art school. Much of the advice on home decoration given by Mrs Mackay has been over the radio and by telephone. Radio programmes in Christchurch, featuring her three times a week, stopped in 1976, but she said, “people still come up to me and say they heard me on the radio.” A “mirror brain” has enabled her to use the phone to answer the queries of thousands of householders. Mrs Mackay said she could visualise a complete colour scheme and give advice directly back to a caller. Mrs Mackay did not intend to retire’ after leaving Taubmans. She plans a holiday with her daughter in Durban for several months. When she returns to Christchurch, Mrs Mackay will be doing “free-lance” consultant work, and apparently her services are still in demand. “I will be doing some new projects, which I can select as time permits,” she said. After her long career, Vera Mackay says that she cannot walk into a room without running a professional eye over the colour scheme. "I try not to be critical. I am better than I used to be. When travelling 1 used to long to put notes in letter boxes asking people to paint their houes.”