15 years in the Navy, and 11 years in the Army during WWII and Korea. My father raised us with a strict hand, but taught us respect, honesty and integrity. He always told me, “Whatever vocation you choose in life, be the best at it.”

What Shaped My View and Values

I always looked up to my father as the hero in my life. I often helped him on weekends, working on our rental properties or home projects in San Francisco, which usually involved painting. My father often let me help in choosing colors when we painted. He recognized my artistic abilities and encouraged me to pursue my creative passion.

In elementary school, I was the kid who was always caught doodling on my school assignments, seemingly in my own world of color and imagination. I either had a pencil, pen or a crayon in my hand since I was in diapers. Things never changed (except for the diapers), and I went on to apply myself towards illustrating and experimenting with colors and textures.

During high school, I also worked on weekends for a local building contractor in the city. New construction became full time after graduating from school, but I replaced this focus later as I sharpened my painting skills. I began painting and restoring old Victorians in San Francisco and was frequently called on to illustrate color ideas for classic Victorian buildings.

In the 70’s we didn’t have digital cameras, and film took too long to process. So, I would hand-draw the project we were working on, make photocopies, and illustrate color ideas to present to the client. At the age of 17, I received a lot of praise for my technique and is where I was introduced to color consultation.

Bill’s Early Work Life

By the time I reached my early twenties, I was a union worker in the financial district. I worked with building engineers doing all phases of commercial painting and building maintenance. I eventually became a building supervisor, where I managed several commercial properties and a large staff.

In 1986, I moved to Sonoma County to be close to my father during his final days, and decided to make Sonoma County my home. I quit my job in the city and resumed painting with local painting contractors until I decided to establish my own business. In 1996, True Colors Painting was born.

From those early days to the present time, I have always carried my father’s inspiration, his honesty and integrity with me. I have worked to apply them to all my personal and business practices. As my journey continues, I am constantly researching the latest technologies. I continue to refine my artistic skills and offer expertise, advice and new ways to help our clients achieve their vision.

The True Colors team working on an industrial job (before and after)

About the True Colors Team

In recent years, my wife joined me to help expand the business. We incorporated and limited our operations to only Sonoma County.

We currently have a shop in Santa Rosa, where we perform cabinet finishing, spray work, wood creations, distressing, burning, and other creative projects.

Because of our high level of quality standards, we initiate a comprehensive interviewing process, drug screening and background checks before hiring new employees, and currently employ several highly skilled professional journey level painters.

Our painters are friendly, courteous and knowledgeable. They are all non-smokers, present a clean appearance and are family to us. We treat them exceptionally well, providing them with health insurance, 401K, paid holidays and Friday (usually healthy) snacks.

We look forward to working with you and offer our commitment to quality, professionalism, a stress-free experience and beautiful results!

The team gets a lift to work on the upper story of a building exterior.

Certifications and Memberships

• Member, Building Trades Association
• Member, Golden State Builders Exchange
• EPA / RRP Lead Certified
• Wangerin Environmental
• State of California Certificate number RV-I-19851-11-MCS-0187
• Certified Deck Staining & Resurfacing Contractor, Benjamin Moore company