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Arts & Entertainment

Holiday Window Designer Spreads Cheer

Everett Regua spreads holiday cheer each year by adorning the windows of many local businesses with festively painted designs.

His canvas is simple glass, his tools are few, and his images are fleeting.

For holiday window painter Everett Regua, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

For just a few precious weeks each year, Regua helps spread holiday cheer by painting festive holiday theme designs on the windows of many of the south bay’s most popular stores and businesses, such as on S. Main Street in Milpitas.

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β€œI’ve been doing it for over 30 years now,” Regua said this week while preparing to transform the blank windows of a south San Jose coffee shop into a holiday winter wonderland. β€œIt gives people a good feeling when they see it."

Using just two small line brushes and a pair of two-inch paint rollers, Regua created a festive winter tableau on the shop’s two entry doors and three picture windows. The doors boast a colorful, leafy-green holiday wreath dotted with red berries and wrapped in bright red ribbons, with a β€œHappy Holidays” message. The shop windows were filled with snowflakes and leaves of holly.

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Regua worked quickly, and soon it was time to move on.

Starting just before Thanksgiving and continuing until mid-December, Regua is at his busiest. He visits as many as three clients a day from retail shops to offices, restaurants and hospitals. Each job takes anywhere from one to two hours, depending on the number of windows and the design’s complexity. Clients pay anywhere from $75 to $100 or more, depending on their needs.

Regua said he uses simple acrylic house paint because of its simplicity.

β€œIt’s water-resistant once it’s dried, (and) its acrylic film is easier to remove with soapy water and ammonia,” he explained. He added that other types of paints, especially tempera, don’t work as well because of their tendency to flake when dry.

An-Jan Feed and Pet Supply is one of Regua’s longtime holiday window design clients. Manager Aaron Harrison looks forward to seeing what designs and images Regua will come up with each season. Β 

β€œThey’re different every year,” he said. β€œIt’s a pleasurable surprise to see what he comes up with.”

In addition to the Milpitas store, Regua also paints the windows of the pet supply store’s San Jose location on Branham Lane.

Regua, 54, first started painting holiday window designs after graduating from Santa Clara University with a bachelor of fine arts degree. Β One of his earliest clients was Orchard Supply Hardware.

β€œThey were real big on it,” Regua recalled, adding that he painted windows at several of their locations including San Jose, and Fremont.

How did he get those first clients?

β€œI went to a couple of businesses and just asked if they wanted painting,” Regua recalled.

Cold-calling businesses was a challenge, but Regua persisted and, eventually, clients signed up. Today, many of his clients are repeat customers, such as An-Jan, which has been using him for more than 15 years.

Most of Regua’s clients are locally-owned businesses including hair salons, restaurants, coffee shops and retailers. Over the years, Regua has transformed windows in Los Altos, San Jose, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Saratoga, Santa Clara and Fremont. This year, he also painted holiday designs on two convalescent hospitals in Campbell.

How does Regua come up with designs?

β€œThe designs are my idea. I try to incorporate them to go along with the business,” Regua said. β€œAt a restaurant, I might have an image of Santa holding a plate of burgers and fries.” 

Recent examples include Santa Claus and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer riding in a classic convertible on the windows of a San Jose auto supply store, and Santa getting a beauty treatment at a Los Gatos hair salon.

When he’s not painting holiday designs on windows, Regua can be found painting custom wall murals at businesses and private venues throughout the South Bay. He also creates fine art acrylic paintings, airbrush paintings and prints for business and individual clients. Pet and animal portraits are also a client favorite.

Regua, who grew up in San Jose and graduated from Silver Creek High School, was drawn to art at an early age. His passion is the creative process that goes into putting his works together using colors, textures and varied painting styles.

He exhibits his works throughout the year at art and wine festivals, art shows, colleges, and every week at the San Jose Flea Market.

Regua has posted a portfolio of his works on the Internet. Visitors can view them and contact him by visiting his website at http://everettregua.com.

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