Mana Mandala Studio is a decorative finishing studio in Captain Cook, Hawaii, working the Big Island of Hawaii.
Eight lotus petals in pink and violet open around a seed of life pattern, with a leaf, water and fire at the points. Every colour on this website is sampled straight from it.
It is the same hand that paints faux stone, wood grain and ocean floors, and the same eye behind the studio's original paintings and commissioned portraits.
Childhood / Lincoln, Nebraska
Damon has always been an artist. As a boy he made works of art and would run up the stairs to show his parents.
1985 / Arizona
Shortly after moving to Arizona, a downstairs neighbour showed him a black marble coffee table base with a half inch piece of glass on top. It was not marble. It was a painted faux finish. He was hooked from there.
22 years / Arizona
He developed his own decorative finishes, recording each one to keep the recipe for that finish. He married, had kids, and spent years working with designers and architects on commercial and residential hand painted finishes.
Over 20 years / Big Island, Hawaii
Now in Hawaii, he has created decorative finishes and stained concrete across the island. On one estate, hired by Tinguley Construction, he faux finished every outlet cover so it vanished into the wall behind it: grass cloth wallpaper duplicated, coconut wood grain on recessed lighting, granite and natural stone matched.
Recently / Captain Cook
Wanting more colour intensity, Damon started working in alcohol ink. The work began on canvas, then moved onto secondhand framed glass, left to dry overnight into a snowflake like bloom. That became the studio's commissioned art glass.
Artist and finisher
Over 30 years of decorative finishing, and over 20 in acid stain and decorative concrete. Developed his own finish recipes in Arizona working with designers and architects, and has since finished floors, walls and ceilings across the Big Island. Also a painter and portrait artist.
Every job, start to finish
The studio takes on one project at a time, from the first consultation on colour and technique through preparation, finishing and sealing. The same hand that stains a floor paints the alcohol ink art glass, so the work carries one standard across every surface.
The art glassThe best faux finish is one nobody notices. Described in Damon's own words.
Hired by Tinguley Construction and the homeowner to faux finish every outlet cover across a sprawling estate, so they disappear into the walls around them: grass cloth wallpaper duplicated, coconut wood grain painted onto recessed lighting, granite and natural stone matched.
Source: Damon's own account on the old home page
Decorative Wall FinishingFinishes built to stand the test of time, with quality materials and close attention to detail.
A finished surface raises how a property looks and what it is worth, which makes the work an investment.
Every project is personalised to your vision rather than pulled from a catalogue.
A smooth, efficient installation with minimal disruption, from preparation through to the final touches.
This is a real sample board: nine stains laid onto the same substrate, taped off and numbered, photographed outside in daylight. It is the least glamorous object in the studio and the most important one.
The studio provides samples for every project, so a finish is proved on a board like this before it goes onto anyone's floor.
A free first meeting to go through colour possibilities, and which techniques can get the result you want given the condition of your concrete.
Colours are worked up as samples before anything is committed, so the finish is matched to the space and what is going into it.
The surface is prepared properly first, including repairs, which is what lets a finish last. Minimal disruption to your space throughout.
The finish goes on by hand and is topcoated and sealed, with slip resistance added in wet areas like pool decks.
Call the studio, or send the shape of the project across. The first meeting covers colour possibilities and which techniques suit your surface, and it is free.
Captain Cook, Hawaii / serving the Big Island of Hawaii