Southampton - Decorative artist Monica Asche has been plying her talent in the East End for over two decades. No website, no marketing firm, no fancy showroom and a strict policy of client confidentiality, her professional discretion has probably made her one of the best kept secrets in the Hamptons.

The extraordinary trompe l'oeil mural Monica Asche created for the staircase of an undisclosed client's Palm Beach mansion.

Specializing in custom decorative painting and antique furniture restoration her work can be found throughout the East End in many of its most historic and beautiful mansions, as well as in other affluent communities across the country. Adept at many genres, her trompe l'oeil technique is nothing short of masterful and her own study of classic European art and furnishings has provided her with the ability to accurately restore rare 18th century pieces that might otherwise be lost to deterioration.

Of course, Asche has witnessed many changes in decorative tastes during her career, "Everything has changed, when I started out in this business everything was Louis XVI and hand painted 18th century furniture and I loved that, but now we have a generation of young people that consider that 'Granny' furniture. It has to be bigger than granny; it has been around, after all, for over 200 years and is still admired and held in great esteem."

Although Asche has lived and worked in the Hamptons for the last 20 years, her experience and education regarding decorative arts began substantially earlier, "In the 1970s I studied in New York with Isabel O'Neil [The Isabel O'Neil Studio for the Art of the Painted Finish]. She was a very interesting woman, as she actually did not want any students at her school that planned to do this as a profession. Most of her students were very, very wealthy women who would bring in their rare and beautiful pieces of furniture and learn how to do things like paint inlaid tortoise shell. People from all over the world would come to New York to study with her."

Married well and working in the airline business, in the beginning Asche's activity in the decorative arts was more a passion than a profession and her frequent visits to Europe, particularly Florence, further enhanced her passion, technique and knowledge of restoration and decorative painting. "In Florence I just loved the art of the fresco and the old men restoring antiques on the little back streets."

An 18th century restoration project Asche has undertaken.

After her divorce Asche, while studying at the Academy of Art College in California, became involved with her fine arts professor. Together they further perfected their style of decorative painting including the use of acrylic paints, as opposed to the oil based paint with which Asche had been originally trained. "We just took the whole thing to another level," the artist explained, "including reinventing different ideas for different finishes."

Part of Asche's art deals with the historic understanding of original techniques and she often does exhaustive research before beginning a restoration. Demonstrating such techniques to this novice by use of an 18th century piece she is presently working on in her studio.

Although she has an admitted passion for more classical finishes, Asche's superb technique translates literally into even the most modern, folkloric or uniquely specific decorative finishes of her client's personal tastes. Taking me through her portfolio, from wash and glaze wall finishes to restored hand painted furnishings to gold leaf ceilings to hand painted floors; her gift is both prolific and eclectic. Particularly amazing is her mastery of the trompe l'oeil mural, an example of which she showed me from a project she did in Palm Beach. I can only describe it as breathtaking in both detail and execution.

Asche also explained that murals are no longer permanent installations, "We paint the mural on a canvas and then double back the canvas to the wall. You can now take the mural with you if you move or save it if want to change your design style."

Trompe l'oeil is the French expression that means "trick the eye." Yes, among her many decorative art talents, Asche does indeed have the ability to trick the eye. However, it is impossible to turn a blind eye to the superb technique and mastery of this veteran Hamptons decorative artisan.

Monica Asche Studio, 848 North Sea Road, Southampton, NY, 631-283-3614.